Markenzy Lapointe U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida
A Georgia inmate has been sentenced to an additional 19.5 years in federal prison for crimes related to child exploitation. Robert Francis Gilbert, aged 59, was already serving a life sentence for rape at Rutledge State Prison in Columbus, Georgia, and was eligible for parole. During the summer of 2023, he engaged in online communication with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl.
Gilbert used threats to solicit pornographic videos and planned a sexual encounter upon his release from state prison. Law enforcement discovered his actions and informed the state prison warden. A subsequent investigation found that Gilbert had a cell phone containing evidence of these crimes.
On August 23, 2023, during a hearing before United States District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg, Gilbert pleaded guilty to attempted enticement of a minor and attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor. Judge Rosenberg imposed the sentence on February 24, 2025.
The announcement of the sentencing was made by United States Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida, Acting Special Agent in Charge Jose Figueroa of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Division, and Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek.
The case was investigated by HSI Fort Pierce and the Martin County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Hoover.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project aims to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet while also identifying and rescuing victims.
Further information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
For more details about this case or related court documents, visit the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida or check court records under case number 24-cr-14002 on www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
