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Press Release

Federal Jury Finds Clay County Man Guilty On Federal Child Pornography Charges

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida

Jacksonville, FL - Acting U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that a federal jury found Melvin Hubert Holmes (52, Clay County) guilty of production and possession of child pornography. Holmes faces not less than 15 years and up to 30 years in prison on the production charge, and up to 10 years in prison on the possession charge. After the return of the jury verdict, Holmes was remanded to the custody of United States Marshals Service pending his sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for January 6, 2014.

According to testimony and evidence presented during trial, from March 10, 2012 through August 19, 2012, Holmes had installed a hidden video spy camera in several areas in a bathroom within his residence. On several occasions, Holmes used the camera to capture pornographic videos and images of a minor child. On August 23, 2012, partially covered holes in a sink vanity and in two walls that had housed the camera were discovered and the Clay County Sheriff's Office was contacted. During the investigation, several items were seized, including a laptop computer belonging to Holmes. A forensic analysis of the computer revealed several dozen images and videos depicting child pornography that were produced by Holmes.

This case was investigated by the Clay County Sheriff's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

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 the 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.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Updated January 26, 2015