Gainesville Man Sentenced to 150 Months for Distribution of Child Pornography

GAINESVILLE, FL—Thomas F. Kirwin, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced today that Micah C. Peacock, 33, of Gainesville, was sentenced earlier this week to 150 months in federal prison for distribution and possession of child pornography.

Evidence introduced at Peacock’s September 2009 jury trial established that between June and December 2008, Peacock used Limewire, a peer to peer file sharing program, to receive and distribute child pornography over the Internet. A search of Peacock’s Gainesville apartment in December 2008, disclosed that Peacock was in possession of a computer and hard drive containing 28 videos and 65 images of child pornography. A number of the images depicted children under the age of 12.

Mr. Kirwin praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, whose joint investigation led to Peacock’s conviction and sentence.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by 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 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 case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brett Meltzer.