Press Release
MAN SENTENCED TO 51 MONTHS FOR VIDEOTAPING CHILDREN IN PUBLIC AREAS AT LOCAL BEACHES
May 29, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Al Lamberti, Sheriff, Broward County Sheriff's Office (BSO), and Duncan Foster, Chief, Coral Springs Police Department, announced today that defendant Donald Patrick Reid, 37, was sentenced on May 28, 2009, by U.S. District Judge Donald Hurley to 51 months' imprisonment on charges of possessing child pornography in connection with his videotaping young children's genitalia and pubic areas in the public bathing areas and bathrooms at the beach area of Deerfield Beach, FL.
The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), a group of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies working jointly to combat child exploitation, learned of Reid's videotaping of children when Broward Sheriff's Deputies noticed Reid videotaping children near the public bathing area at the beach last March. Reid attempted to evade the police when confronted, and was initially charged by the Broward State Attorney's Office for battery of a law enforcement officer and voyeurism.
On December 13, 2008, Reid was found at the Coral Springs Aquatic Center videotaping a 12-year old in the public bathroom. In response to a complaint by a concerned parent, Reid was arrested. Images found on Reid's camera included footage of young children at the beach that clearly focused on the children's genitals and pubic area as they were changing on the beach or in bathroom stalls. Most of the images portrayed children under 6 years of age. As a result, the U.S. Attorney's Office subsequently charged Reid with possession and production of child pornography. On March 31, 2009, Reid pled guilty to possession of child pornography.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO), and the Coral Springs Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Tantillo.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by 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 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.
If you have more information the criminal activity described in this press release or concerns, please contact the Broward County Sheriff's Office Sex Crimes Division at (954) 321-4240).
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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