Lake City Man Indicted On Federal Charges Of Possessing Child Pornography

Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that a federal grand jury in Jacksonville has returned an indictment against Ronald Charles Waters (65, Lake City) charging him with two counts of possessing child pornography.  On each of these counts, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a potential life term of supervision. Waters was arrested on November 20, 2013 in Lake City, Florida.  He was arraigned in federal court on December 4, 2013. 

According to the indictment, on or about May 30, 2013 and on or about November 20, 2013, Waters knowingly possessed computer media containing minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the Lake City Police Department.  It is being 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.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."