Osceola County man indicted on federal child pornography charges

ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal grand jury indicted a central Florida man on child pornography charges Friday. The indictment is a result of an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, the Orange County Sheriff's Office, the Osceola County Sheriff's Office and the former Child Predator Cybercrime Unit of the Florida Attorney General's Office.

John David Baker, 29, of Celebration, Fla., is charged with production, transportation and possession of child pornography. On each of the two production counts, Baker faces at least 15 years and up to 30 years in federal prison. On each of the 15 transportation counts, Baker faces at least 5 years and up to 20 years in federal prison. On the possession count, Baker faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.

Baker was arrested Friday in Celebration. He is being held in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending his detention hearing, which will take place Monday in Orlando.

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.