Press Release
FT. PIERCE MAN SENTENCED TO 63 MONTHS’ IMPRISONMENT FOR POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
October 28, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jeffrey H. Sloman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Anthony V. Mangione, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of Investigations, announced today that defendant Michael Lee Sherman, 55, was sentenced on October 27, 2009 by U.S. District Court Judge Jose E. Martinez to 63 months in prison on charges of possession of child pornography. Sherman had previously pled guilty to this charge on June 24, 2009.
On September 2008, ICE special agents in Ft. Pierce obtained a search warrant for Sherman’s residence and seized four computers, digital devices, and media. During the execution of the search warrant, Sherman stated that he downloaded child pornography, masturbated to the images, and then deleted the child pornography to avoid detection. An ICE forensic examination confirmed the presence of deleted child pornography.
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.
Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of ICE’s Office of Investigations. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rinku Tribuiani.
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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