ATLANTA - A 39-year-old Kennesaw magician and former children's church director will spend 20 years in prison followed by a lifetime of probation for filming children using public restrooms.

United States District Court Judge Clarence Cooper sentenced Jeffrey Allen Wasley on Wednesday in Atlanta. Wasley, who pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography on March 16, was also ordered to take part in a rehabilitation program and will be required to register as a sex offender.

"The Secret Service takes an aggressive approach towards the prevention and investigation of child pornography," said Reginald G. Moore, special agent in charge of the United States Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office, which investigated the case along with Cobb Police officers. "This case demonstrates our commitment to work with our local law enforcement partners to track down child predators in an effort to keep our communities safe."

Wasley's listed attorney, Jeffrey Brickman, did not return messages from the Journal seeking comment.

Wasley's home computers were found littered with thousands of images of downloaded child pornography, as well as self-produced videos, after authorities arrested him on child molestation charges from an incident at a local Target bathroom in 2008.

On June 14, 2008, Wasley approached two young brothers, 7 and 5 years old, in the restroom of a Target store on Ernest Barrett Parkway around 3 p.m. The arrest warrant stated he watched one of them urinate and then tucked in his shirt for him. The warrant stated that Wasley also possibly took pictures of the 5-year-old boy while he was using the urinal.

The boys reported the incident to their mother, who told store officials. Target security observed Wasley in the store several days later, followed him to his car, wrote down his tag number and notified Cobb Police. He was arrested and booked into Cobb County Jail on a $30,000 bond. A subsequent search of his home yielded a computer with six self-produced videos of boys in bathrooms at metro Atlanta Wal-Mart and Target stores, along with thousands of downloaded pornographic images of children, authorities said.

According to the United States Department of Justice, Wasley also stalked boys at Six Flags American Adventures park in Marietta, where he performed as a magician. A Six Flags spokeswoman earlier said Wasley's employment there ceased in October 2007, but declined to say why.

On Dec. 11, 2008, Cobb SWAT went to Wasley's home on Carrie Trace around 9:45 a.m. to arrest him again, this time on federal charges of child exploitation and child pornography. Wasley ran into the basement and attempted suicide using a knife, police said. His wife and a juvenile were removed from the house and Wasley was taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital. Authorities searched the home and found a second computer with thousands more downloaded pornographic images of children. He was later released into the custody of federal agents, where he has remained since the arrest.

Assistant United States Attorneys Robert McBurney and Francey Hakes prosecuted the federal case, with assistance from trial attorney Andrew McCormack of the Department of Justice's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.

At his arraignment and bond hearing on Dec. 29, 2008, in Atlanta, Sgt. Brian Moore of Cobb's Crimes Against Children Unit testified that two other children had come forward since his arrest.

One child would only say, "Something bad happened," Moore told the court, and the other boy said Wasley fondled him while learning a magic trick at Wasley's former magic shop in Kennesaw years prior. Moore also said there was a previous investigation into Wasley in 1999, but he was never arrested.

Wasley could still face state child molestation charges for the June incident in Target, but Cobb District Attorney Pat Head said an assistant attorney met with the family of the boys and said they were satisfied with the federal sentence. Head said his office will place the case on the dead docket, which means it will be shelved, but could be brought back if something were to occur with the federal case.

Wasley, who often went by "Magic Jeff," worked birthdays, school shows and corporate events as a comedic magician, performing more than 400 times per year for a number of clients including Home Depot, the city of Kennesaw and local elementary schools. He was also listed as a children's director on Calvary Jesus Church's website.