Former Gym Owner Sentenced to 27 Years Behind Bars

On September 18, Walter Joey Drew, former owner of the now-closed Legacy Performance Center, was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison for the sexual exploitation of teenagers, ranging in age from 13 to 17.

U.S. District Court Judge J. Randall Hall sentenced Drew, 43, of Kite, to serve 327 months in federal prison and 20 years of supervised release.

Judge Hall also ordered Drew to register as a sex offender, pay a $1,500 fine, continued from page

and pay an additional $800 in special assessment fees.

Drew was indicted on federal charges – including 6 counts of production of child pornography, 3 counts of attempted production of child pornography, 6 counts of possession of child pornography, 1 count of receipt of child pornography, and 1 count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activities – on July 31, 2024.

These charges stem from Drew’s gym in Lyons, which had a tanning center. From February 2021 until June 2023, Drew allegedly used the tanning center and his home to produce sexually explicit photos of at least 7 minors, and kept these images within his possession. In addition to this, Drew also tried to convince one minor to engage in sexual activity for the purpose of producing child pornography.

During the sentencing, prosecutors revealed that Drew had used his smartphone to record these images, including a video of a 13 year-old girl, who was friends with Drew’s daughter and was drying off nude with a towel in a bathroom in his home in Toombs County. Drew then captured an explicit screenshot from the video, and uploaded the image to his Apple iCloud account.

In a separate incident, Drew recorded a video of the girl in various stages of undressing in a private tanning bed room at his gym. He saved multiple sexually exploitative screenshots from the video and uploaded them to his iCloud account.

He was accused of recording at least 6 other teenagers in the federal case.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia Margaret E. Heap commented on the case. “Drew used his behind-the-scenes access to surreptitiously capture sexually exploitive images and videos of minor children innocently using his gym and visiting his home,” remarked Heap. “Thanks to the work of our law enforcement partners, Defendant Drew is being held responsible for his reprehensible actions.”

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security and Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) before being prosecuted for the United States by Southern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason W. Blanchard.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey also spoke about Drew’s case. “This case is a disturbing reminder of the lengths predators will go to exploit children,” he emphasized. “The GBI remains steadfast in our commitment to protect the most vulnerable and to work alongside our local, state, and federal partners to ensure that those who commit these crimes are held fully accountable.”

Drew still faces state charges related to this case in Toombs County and additional charges for separate conduct at a previous resident in White County.

Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation should contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by calling (800) 843-5678, or by visiting https://report.cybertip. org/.