St. Augustine Man Sentenced To More Than Fifteen Years In Federal Prison For Offenses Involving Images And Videos Of Children Being Sexually Abused

Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Patrick Howard Woodyard (29, St. Augustine) to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison, followed by a life term of supervised release, for distributing child sexual abuse materials. On March 4, 2020, Patrick Woodyard and his twin brother, Nicholas Woodyard, were charged by indictment with distribution, receipt, and possession of images and videos depicting children being sexually abused.

Patrick Woodyard had pleaded guilty on August 28, 2020. Nicholas Woodyard is currently scheduled for trial in February 2021.     

According to court documents, Homeland Security Investigations began investigating the upload of an image of child pornography that had been distributed from the Woodyard brothers’ residence. Agents executed a search warrant and seized electronic devices that contained hundreds of files of child pornography, including images of the sexual assault of a child approximately two years old. A forensic examination of the devices also revealed Patrick Woodyard’s efforts to secretly record his family members in the nude and his attempts and desires to engage in incest. Records showed that Patrick Woodyard obtained images of his friends’ children and associates from their social media accounts. He then provided those photos to others for the purposes of creating graphic sexual fantasies of the rape and torture of the children.

"For years, this individual preyed on the innocence of our most vulnerable population to satisfy his sick and demented desires,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Jacksonville, Assistant Special Agent in Charge K. Jim Phillips. "With today's sentencing we have removed him from the community and sent a resounding message that HSI is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate and prosecute anyone who seeks to exploit our nation's children."

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly S. Karase.

This 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.justice.gov/psc.