Tampa man sentenced to 50 years for child sexual exploitation offenses
TAMPA, Fla. – A Florida man was sentenced Tuesday to 50 years in federal prison for producing, possessing, and distributing child pornography. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).
According to court documents, the FDLE began an investigation after receiving numerous tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children concerning an Internet user at the residence of Donald Daniel Robinson, 30, of Tampa. The user had distributed files containing child pornography through various social networking websites. On July 8, 2015, agents from FDLE and ICE HSI executed a search warrant at Robinson's home. Multiple images of child pornography, including images of local children, were found during the search.
"This lengthy prison sentence is reflective of the heinous nature of the crime committed and a result of the hard work of our HSI special agents and FDLE," said Susan L. McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa. "This criminal stole the innocence of young children and HSI will do everything in our power to protect our children and bring to justice those involved in these despicable crimes."
According to victims and evidence obtained from Robinson's phone, Robinson had posed as a female online to coerce children to produce and send the explicit images to him. The images included minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Additionally, two victims told agents that Robinson had persuaded them to perform sex acts on him.
"This case puts into perspective that crimes like this begin with live victims who are children," said Tom Foy, FDLE Tampa's Special Agent in Charge. "The suspect in this case manipulated children for his benefit. FDLE and HSI will continue this effort to protect our children from those who would use their innocence and youth for their advantage and criminal activity."
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amanda C. Kaiser, 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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