Jacksonville man indicted for receiving and possessing child pornography

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville man was indicted by a federal grand jury Friday for receiving and possessing child pornography. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The indictment charges Arnold Bernard Conrad Jr., 49, with two counts of receiving child pornography over the Internet and one count of possession of child pornography. If convicted of receiving child pornography, he faces a minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine. If convicted of possessing child pornography, Conrad faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Conrad was arrested Aug. 24 and arraigned in Jacksonville federal court that same day.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.