Orlando, Florida - U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron today sentenced David R. Rivenbark (39, Las Vegas, Nevada) to 20 years in federal prison and 10 years of supervised release for transportation and possession of child pornography. He was found guilty by a federal jury on April 13, 2017.
According to the trial evidence, Canadian law enforcement authorities initiated an international investigation into individuals using chatrooms within a social media website to trade child pornography. In August 2014, Rivenbark, then a resident of Oviedo, Florida, posted a link within the social media website directing its users to a Dropbox location that contained 111 videos of child pornography. A Canadian agent preserved the evidence and referred the investigation to U.S.Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Orlando. In November 2014, HSI agents contacted Rivenbark at his residence. Rivenbark admitted that he had posted the link to a child pornography website and that he had searched for and viewed child pornography on his computer.
A forensic examination of Riverbark’s computer subsequently revealed 462 images and 2 videos containing child pornography in the deleted space. Additional forensic evidence showed that Rivenbark had actively searched for and viewed child pornography, which he later deleted using cleaning software.
“While this sentence cannot restore the lost innocence of the children depicted in these images, it should serve as a warning to those who engage in this behavior - HSI and our law enforcement partners, like the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, will be relentless in our pursuit of online predators," said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero.
This case was investigated by the York Regional Police Service (Ontario, Canada) - Special Victims Unit, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilianys Rivera Miranda.
This 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 United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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.justice.gov/psc.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
