St. Lucie County Resident Sentenced To Child Pornography Charges

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Kenneth Mascara, Sheriff, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office (SLCSO), announced today that U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore sentenced Cameron Dean Bates, 46, of Port Saint Lucie, to 20 years imprisonment, followed by 15 years of supervised release.

According to testimony at trial, in March 2011, SLCSO detectives and members of the South Florida Internet Crimes against Children (ICAC) Task Force began an Internet investigation using Peer-to-Peer (P2P) software. During this investigation, law enforcement found that between December 2010 and June 19, 2012, several internet protocol (IP) addresses linked to Cameron Dean Bates in both St. Lucie County and Palm Beach County were used to download and share child pornography files. Detectives reviewed a number of the files associated with the IP addresses, and confirmed that the files contained child pornography.

On June 29, 2012, a state authorized search warrant was executed at Bates’ residence in Port Saint Lucie, Florida. During the search, law enforcement seized a Dell black/silver laptop computer from Bates’ car. An on-sight forensic preview scan of the computer found numerous, non-deleted, child pornography images and videos, which included a minor child engaging in sexually explicit conduct. A full forensic analysis of Bates’ laptop revealed numerous images and videos of child pornography, along with personally produced adult pornography by Bates.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office and HSI for their assistance and their work on this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carmen Lineberger and A. Marie Villafana.

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.