Highlands County Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Distributing, Receiving and Possessing Child Pornography

A resident of Highlands County, Florida was sentenced to 30 years in prison, by United States District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg, for distributing, receiving, and possessing images that depicted the sexual exploitation of minors.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Robert C. Hutchinson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement. 

Martin Jay Van Deurzen, 60, of Lake Placid, pleaded guilty on January 27, 2016, to two counts of distribution of material containing visual depictions of sexual exploitation of minors, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252(a)(2) and (b)(1); receipt of material containing visual depictions of sexual exploitation of minors, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252(a)(2) and (b)(1); and possession of matter containing visual depictions of sexual exploitation of minors, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252 (a)(4)(B) and (b)(2).  On April 15, 2016, Van Deurzen was sentenced to the statutory maximum term of 240 months in prison for the distribution and receipt of visual depictions of sexual exploitation of minors, to be followed by the statutory maximum term of 120 months in prison for possession of visual depictions of sexual exploitation of minors.  Upon completion of his prison term, Van Deurzen will be placed on supervised release for the remainder of his life and is ordered to register as a sex offender.

According to court documents and information disclosed during court proceedings, on March 6, 2015, an HSI Special Agent based in Delaware, using a computer connected to the Internet, utilized a publicly available P2P file sharing program and observed numerous files containing visual depictions of the sexual exploitation of minors.  The agent was able to download 50 image files from an IP address assigned to Van Deurzen’s registered account in Lake Placid, Florida.  On November 16, 2015, an HSI Taskforce Agent in Martin County discovered that an individual, determined to be Van Deurzen, was logged into the P2P network and engaged in a one-on-one chat, where he discussed the sharing of child pornography and his personal collection of the sexually explicit images.  The agent observed numerous visual depictions of the sexual exploitation of minors in Van Deurzen’s shared folders and downloaded several of the files directly from the defendant’s computer. 

On November 24, 2015, HSI agents executed a search warrant at Van Deurzen’s residence in Lake Placid.  During the search Van Deurzen identified his Dell laptop computer, in the living room area, which was on and actively sharing pictures and videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  A forensic review of Van Deurzen’s computer revealed hundreds of thousands of pictures and videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Many of the minors were prepubescent and under the age of 12 years of age, engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including sado-masochistic, bondage and bestiality.  Also on Van Deurzen’s computer were images of the defendant sexually abusing a minor.        

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Lineberger.            

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.