COTTONDALE MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO CHILD PORNOGRAPHY OFFENSES

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – Mark David Swearingen, 32, of Cottondale, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to possess and transportation of child pornography. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “Our state and federal law enforcement partners are unified in their commitment to root out and eliminate the threats posed by predators who sexually exploit and victimize children, and this investigation and successful prosecution is another step toward achieving that goal. The possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material has the effect of re-victimizing the sexually exploited children each and every time those horrific images and videos are shared, and this abhorrent crime deserves the most severe punishment. My office will not hesitate to pursue maximum justice in these cases to keep our kids safe.”

Court documents reflect that the defendant came under investigation in 2025 when law enforcement received information indicating the defendant had been using a Google account to access child pornography. Law enforcement sought a search warrant and discovered the defendant possessed hundreds of images of minors being sexually abused by adults on several electronic devices.

Swearingen faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and up to twenty years’ imprisonment, and a lifetime of supervision upon release.  

The case involved a joint investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement with assistance from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Meredith L. Steer.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 26, 2026, at 3:00 pm at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee before United States District Judge Mark E. Walker.

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 and led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it 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.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.