Jacksonville Sex Offender Indicted on Federal Charges of Possession of Child Pornography

JACKSONVILLE, FL—Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal grand jury in Jacksonville has returned an indictment charging William Roland Baker (62, Jacksonville) with two counts of possessing child pornography. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of not less than 10 years, up to a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, and a potential life term of supervised release for each count. Baker was arrested in Jacksonville on November 4, 2013, and made his initial appearance in federal court earlier today. His arraignment is scheduled for November 7, 2013, at 2:30 p.m., before U.S. Magistrate James R. Klindt.

The indictment alleges that on or about May 29, 2013, Baker was found to be in possession of visual images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

According to court documents, Baker is a registered sex offender who was previously convicted of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under the age of 16 on November 22, 1995.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

It is another case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the 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 sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "Resources."