JACKSONVILLE, FL—United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that Gregory Michael McCarty (45, Green Cove Springs) has pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography over the Internet. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years, up to 20 years, in federal prison, and a potential life term of supervision. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, an agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), in Jacksonville, began an undercover investigation to identify individuals who had access to and/or were trading images and videos of child pornography over the Internet. The agent determined that a host computer in the northeast Florida area was hosting images of child pornography using a peer-to-peer file sharing program. The agent was able to download several files from this computer. Further investigation traced the subscriber information to the residence of Gregory Michael McCarty in Clay County, Florida.

Law enforcement officers subsequently executed a federal search warrant at McCarty’s residence and seized several computers and other electronic media. During an interview with agents, McCarty acknowledged that he had been receiving child pornography for about two years, stating that he had some on his external drives “for a long time.” He stated, “I fell into it and never got rid of it and never quit.” McCarty further stated, “I know it was wrong, I just didn’t get rid of it and didn’t, didn’t stop doing whatever I was doing.”

An analysis of McCarty’s computer media revealed that his laptop computer contained at least 18 images of child pornography, and at least 20 videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct were found on an external hard disk drive that was connected to the laptop computer.

This case was investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

It is another case 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.