Jacksonville, Florida - Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces today the return of an indictment charging Charles Cory Thornton (36, Yulee) with production and attempted production of child pornography; receipt, transportation, and attempted transportation of child pornography; and possession of child pornography. He faces potential cumulative penalties of not less than 45 years, up to 140 years, in federal prison, and a potential life term of supervision. Thornton was arrested on July 28, 2017, and has been detained pending trial.
According to the criminal complaint and information provided in court, on July 20, 2017, FBI agents and local officers executed a search warrant at Thornton’s residence based on suspected online child exploitation activity. Thornton was not at home, but he was located and interviewed later that day at Naval Air Station Jacksonville where he worked as a machinist. During an interview, Thornton admitted that he had been searching for child pornography for several years using a file sharing program, that he knew that other users were able to download images and videos from his computer, and that he was a “pedophile" and was sexually attracted to children. In subsequent interviews, Thornton admitted that he had used a small camera hidden in a digital clock in a bathroom to surreptitiously film videos of children during 2008 and 2009. Agents recovered this camera from Thornton’s home. A search of his electronic media revealed numerous images of at least two children in various stages of undress in a bathroom taken from several different vantage points, as well as images of Thornton setting up the hidden camera.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
It is another case 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, 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
