GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - Jeffrey Lutz, 56, of Morriston, Florida, was sentenced yesterday to 15 years in federal prison, following his conviction for receipt of child pornography. Jason R. Coody, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the sentence.
Lutz entered a guilty plea in January. He is a sexual offender, previously convicted in January 2020 of possession of child pornography. The evidence showed that in June 2020, Lutz was on State sex offender probation. While executing a warrant for violation of sex offender probation, investigators located a laptop computer registered in Lutz’s name. Forensic examination of the laptop revealed 22 videos and 1 image of child pornography. Further examination revealed that Lutz had begun downloading child pornography just two days after being released from jail on his prior child pornography convictions.
"Within hours of being released for prior convictions of possessing child pornography, this predator was found to be downloading additional illegal content," stated Acting U.S. Attorney Coody. "We will continue to aggressively prosecute anyone who attempts to steal the innocence of a child. I commend our law enforcement partners and prosecutors for removing this dangerous recidivist from our community."
Lutz’s prison sentence will be followed by lifetime supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender and will be subject to all sex offender conditions.
“This child predator is a repeat offender who did not learn the first time," said HSI Jacksonville Assistant Special Agent in Charge K. Jim Phillips. “Thanks to HSI and our partnership with the Levy County Sheriff’s Office, this child predator will be returning to prison for a significant amount of time, making or communities, and our children, that much safer."
“I am extremely proud of the professional law enforcement representatives who worked efficiently to investigate this heinous crime that led to a successful prosecution and conviction," said Levy County Sheriff McCallum. “This dangerous person has been removed from our community and parents can now rest easy knowing their children cannot be harmed by him. This is a job well done by the Detectives of the Levy County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal team members who made this possible for our citizens."
The case was investigated by the Levy County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney David Byron prosecuted the case.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
