Florida man sentenced for production of child pornography
ORLANDO, Fla. – A Florida man was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in federal prison and a life term of supervised release for production of child pornography. He was also ordered to pay restitution and to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
According to the plea agreement, on March 1, 2015, Thomas Samborski, II, 41, of Orange County, made sexually suggestive posts involving photographs of three minor children on a file sharing Internet site. As a result, agents from HSI conducted an investigation and on March 6, 2015, agents executed a search warrant at Samborski’s residence. During the search, agents recovered an iPhone 6 Plus containing hundreds of lascivious images of a female child that had been produced on March 1 and March 3, 2015. Additional electronic devices and media containing child pornography, including photographs showing the sexual abuse of infants and other minor victims, were also recovered. Samborski pleaded guilty in July 2016.
"This criminal has caused irreparable harm to a young child and he will now spend the next 20 years in prison for these crimes,” said Susan L. McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa. “We hope that today’s sentencing can bring a small measure of closure to the victim and family.”
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilianys Rivera Miranda, with the office of U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, Middle District of Florida.
This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.
HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.
Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.
For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.
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