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Press Release

Fort Pierce Resident Sentenced to 75 Months in Prison for Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography

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

A Fort Pierce resident was sentenced today to 75 months in prison by United States District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg for receiving and possessing child pornography.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Robert C. Hutchinson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, and Ken J. Mascara, Sheriff, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, made the announcement.

Richard Joseph Ahearn, 56, of Fort Pierce previously pled guilty to one count of receiving child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(2), and one count of possessing child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(4)(B).  After his release from incarceration, Ahearn will be placed on supervised release for 10 years and will have to register as a sex offender.

According to court documents and information disclosed during the court proceedings, Yahoo! reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NMEC) several suspected child pornography images that had been uploaded to a Flickr account.  The email account and the internet protocol (IP) address associated with that account were connected to a physical address in Fort Pierce, determined to be Ahearn’s residence.  The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office obtained state search warrants for the Flickr account and associated email accounts.  Examination of those accounts revealed sexually explicit online chats with minors.  It was also determined that Ahearn was employed as an Information Technology Professional with the St. Lucie County Tax Collector’s Office.  After ICE-HSI joined the investigation, a federal search warrant was obtained for Ahearn’s residence and any electronic devices found therein.  A subsequent search of Ahearn’s computer revealed images of sexually explicit conduct involving minors (child pornography).

This case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI and the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel E. Funk.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Updated January 26, 2016

Topic
Project Safe Childhood