Atlanta man sentenced to ten years for possession of child pornography

ATLANTA - Michael Frost, who was previously convicted and served a sentence in federal prison for possession of child pornography, has been sentenced for possessing child pornography including images of children as young as seven. 

“Frost made a decision to go back to victimizing children even though he has already been jailed once for it,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Child pornography is disgusting and it is a second victimization of a child who has already been traumatized.  Our office will continue to pursue and prosecute those who prey on children.  Additionally, we will pursue criminals who use the dark web to avoid prosecution for their illicit activities.”

“Clearly prison time was not a deterrent that kept Frost from continuing his abhorrent behavior,” said Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, Chris Hacker. “If he thought he could hide behind the dark web, he was wrong, thanks to the cooperative work of the FBI and our local law enforcement partners. Now Frost will serve several more years in prison where he won’t be able to victimize any more children.”

“There is no work in law enforcement more important than protecting children.  Officers, agents and prosecutors at all levels of our profession take great pride in capturing and prosecuting vile men and women that aim to victimize children.  We are so grateful for our working relationship with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and this is a great example of our partnerships leading to the apprehension of another child predator,” Chief John Robison, Alpharetta Department of Public Safety.

“Again a person intent on victimizing our children has been brought to answer for his criminal acts.  Only through continued diligence by local, state and federal law enforcement can these online predators be stopped.  The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office is committed to working with our partner agencies and prosecutors to stop these criminals.  Kudos to FBI Atlanta, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety for their assistance.   Cases like this should serve as a warning to these criminals, that there is no room to hide when you endanger our children.  We will not stop and we will find you and hold you accountable for your criminal acts,” said Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman.

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: During an undercover operation on the dark web, an area on the Internet where illegal content is uploaded and shared, law enforcement identified an IP address assigned to a physical address in Cumming, Georgia where child pornography had been downloaded, and interviewed the occupant at that address.  The occupant was not involved in downloading child pornography, but told law enforcement that Michael Frost visited regularly and used his personal laptop computer to access the web when at the address. 

When law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Frost’s address in Atlanta, Georgia, they seized multiple electronics that contained tens of thousands of images and videos of children as young as seven years old engaged in sodomy and other sexually explicit activity.  Defendant had been previously convicted in 2002 in federal court of possessing child pornography and served approximately three years in federal prison.

Michael Frost, 49, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leigh Martin May to ten years in prison followed by ten years supervised release, and ordered to register as a sex offender for life.  He was also ordered to pay a special assessment of $5,100, and restitution of $20,000 to victims.  Frost was convicted of these charges on July 19, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, and Alpharetta Police Department investigated this case, with assistance from the Atlanta Police Department.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane C. Schulman prosecuted the case.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.