Oviedo Man Arrested for Distributing Child Pornography

ORLANDO, FL—United States Attorney Robert E. O'Neill announces the filing of a criminal complaint charging Samuel Shamba Warlick (age 39, of Oviedo) with distribution and possession of child pornography. If convicted on all counts, Warlick faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison.

According to the criminal complaint and affidavit, Warlick distributed approximately 40 images of child pornography to a law enforcement agent using a peer-to-peer file sharing program over the Internet. Agents executed a search warrant at his house on January 14, 2011, and located images of child pornography on his computer.

A criminal complaint 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.

The 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 (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov and click on the tab "other resources" or please visit the Attorney General of Florida's website, www.safeflorida.net.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karen L. Gable.