Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Distribution of Child Pornography

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announced that Duane Gillette, 41, of Pompano Beach, Florida, was sentenced yesterday on charges of distribution of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252(a)(2) and (b)(1). United States District Judge Jose E. Martinez sentenced Gillette to 20 years in prison.

Gillette pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography on August 29, 2011. Gillette had been charged in a three-count indictment on July 26, 2011.

According to court documents, Gillette, who had previously been convicted of a state sex offense involving a minor, traded child pornography images with an individual in the United Kingdom multiple times in November 2010. During the course of the investigation, FBI agents conducted a search of a storage unit maintained by Gillette, where they located several hard drives and digital media. One of these hard drives contained more than 2,000 child pornography images and more than 400 child pornography videos. The images included depictions of prepubescent males and females (children as young as infants and toddlers) engaged in sexually explicit conduct; naked infants in sexually explicit settings; and bondage involving minors.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elisa Castrolugo and Corey Steinberg.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice and is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). 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.

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.