Press Release
TENNESSEE MAN SENTENCED TO 210 MONTHS FOR INTERNET TRANSMISSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
July 1, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jeffrey H. Sloman, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Mark R. Gwyn, Director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and Ken J. Mascara, Sheriff, St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office, announced that on June 30, 2009, defendant Charles E. Todd was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Jose E. Martinez to 210 months imprisonment, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Todd had been charged with and pled guilty to the interstate transmission of child pornography via the internet, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, §2252(a)(1).
In May 2008, a St. Lucie County undercover detective went on-line, and purported to be the father of minor children in the Port St. Lucie area. After entering a chat room, the undercover detective received an instant message from defendant Todd, who introduced himself as "Charles" and stated that he was interested in "7 to 13 dad and daug phone." In subsequent communications, the defendant stated that he preferred children over the age of six, that he had images of child pornography hidden on his computer's hard drive, and that he wanted the undercover to have sex with "his daughter" while Todd listened on the telephone. The defendant ultimately sent the undercover a number of images of child pornography via the internet.
The investigation revealed that the defendant resided in Tennessee. With the assistance of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, a search warrant was executed at the defendant's residence. At that time, Todd admitted that he had communicated via internet with the undercover detective and had sent the undercover images of child pornography. The defendant also admitted talking on the telephone to the undercover about wanting to have sex with children.
Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Clarksville, Tennessee Police Department for its assistance in this investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer C. Millien.
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.
Technical comments about this website can be e-mailed to the Webmaster. PLEASE NOTE: The United States Attorney's Office does not respond to non-technical inquiries made to this website. If you wish to make a request for information, you may contact our office at 305-961-9001, or you may send a written inquiry to the United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida, 99 NE 4th Street, Miami, Fl. 33132.