Jacksonville, Florida - United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that Franklin Stuart King (39, Interlachen) has pleaded guilty in United States District Court, in Jacksonville, to receiving child pornography over the Internet. King faces a mandatory minimum penalty of not less than 5 years, up to 20 years in federal prison and a potential life term of supervision. King has been in custody since his arrest on Oct. 10, 2013. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, an agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), in Jacksonville, began an investigation to identify area individuals who had access to and/or were trading images and videos depicting child pornography over the Internet. The investigation revealed that a host computer using a particular Internet Protocol (IP) address in the Jacksonville area was hosting images of child pornography, while using a particular file sharing program. The agent made a successful connection to the host computer at this IP address and successfully downloaded several image files directly from the host computer that depicted child pornography. Further investigation revealed that the IP address resolved to a particular residence located in Interlachen, where King resided. HSI agents and other officers subsequently executed a search warrant at King’s residence and seized, among other things, King’s computer and other items of electronic media.
King was at the residence during the execution of the search warrant and told agents that he viewed images of underage kids on his computer, that while using a particular file sharing program, he would do random searches on the computer, and that he had seen images of nude minor children while on the computer. King also told agents that he used certain specific search terms to find these images and videos and stated, “there is like a small spark somewhere in [his] head that likes to see [child pornography]." King said that he had been viewing child pornography for two or three years.
A subsequent analysis of King=s computer media revealed that it contained a total of 808 images depicting child pornography.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
It is another case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
