Jacksonville, Florida - United States District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Marc Lionel Lewis (52, Jacksonville) to five years in federal prison for distributing images depicting the sexual abuse of young children over the internet. Lewis had pleaded guilty on April 4, 2019. Lewis was also ordered to serve a 12-year term of supervised release, pay $5,100 in court assessments, and register as a sex offender.
According to court documents, agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began an investigation to identify individuals who were using a particular online file-sharing network to access and distribute child pornography. The agents confirmed that a host computer located in Jacksonville was offering files depicting child pornography for sharing over the internet. They downloaded images of an infant, a toddler, and other young children being sexually abused from this host computer. Further investigation revealed that these files were being shared by Lewis.
On July 17, 2017, HSI agents executed a search warrant at Lewis’ residence. Forensic analysis of Lewis’s computer media revealed approximately 40 images of child pornography and 142 images of child erotica. Lewis had unsuccessfully attempted to delete these files using file shredding software. By accessing child pornography through this file sharing program, Lewis knowingly made it available for sharing and distribution.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. It was 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 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.justice.gov/psc.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
