VERO BEACH MAN IS SENTENCED TO 151 MONTHS’ IMPRISONMENT FOR RECEIPT OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
Jeffrey H. Sloman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Anthony V. Mangione, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of Investigations, announced the sentencing of defendant Gerald Edwin Nasi. On January 28, 2010, U.S. District Court Judge K. Michael Moore sentenced the defendant to 151 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release.
Defendant Gerald Edwin Nasi, 72, was charged and pled guilty to receiving images of child pornography over the internet via interstate commerce, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, §2252(a)(2). On March 31, 2009, ICE Special Agents conducted an investigation that identified a computer using peer to peer (P2P) software that was advertising files for download with names indicative of child pornography. The ICE agent browsed the shared files and was able to download images of child pornography from the defendant’s computer. A search warrant was executed at the defendant’s home, during which the defendant admitted to searching for and downloading images of child pornography. Law enforcement seized the defendant’s computer. Thereafter, a forensic examination of the defendant’s computer revealed between 300 and 600 images of child pornography in addition to text files and a cartoon video related to the sexual abuse of children.
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.
This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to identify, investigate and arrest those who prey on children, including human traffickers, international sex tourists, Internet pornographers, and foreign-national predators whose crimes make them deportable. Launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested almost 12,000 individuals through Operation Predator.
ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.
Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.
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.
