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Press Release

Cocoa Man Sentenced To 27 Years In Federal Prison For Soliciting A Minor For Sex And The Production Of Child Pornography

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

Orlando, Florida - U.S. District Chief Judge Anne C. Conway today sentenced Phillip Beyel (28, Cocoa) to 27 years in federal prison for soliciting a minor to have sex and production of child pornography. The court also ordered Beyel to forfeit an Apple iPhone, which he used to facilitate the offenses. Beyel pleaded guilty on September 25, 2012.

According to court documents, on December 31, 2011, Beyel sent a text message from his iPhone, to the minor victim’s iPhone, soliciting the minor victim to engage in sex. After sending the text message, Beyel went to the minor victim’s home, from where they then went to a nearby hotel. Once inside the hotel room, Beyel had sex with the minor and also produced a video of himself engaging in sex with the minor.

On January 1, 2012, during a controlled telephone call between the minor victim and Beyel, they discussed the sexual activity which had taken place on December 31, 2011. During that call, Beyel told the minor victim that if the minor had to go to the doctor, not to say that the injury was caused by the two of them having sex.

A forensic examination of Beyel’s iPhone recovered several videos and photographs depicting sexual acts between Beyel and the minor victim, including the one made on December 31, 2011.

“Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners are determined to find and arrest individuals who prey on minors,” said Susan McCormick, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Tampa, which oversees the agency’s Cocoa Beach office that investigated this case. “Child exploitation is one of the most heinous crimes we investigate, and I assure you, we will make sure these predators are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

This case was investigated by the Brevard County Sheriff's Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlos A. Perez-Irizarry.

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."

Updated January 26, 2015