Child Pornography Distributor Indicted

Fort Myers, Florida - United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that an indictment has been returned against Daniel Edward Palmer (37, Port Charlotte), charging him with one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

According to the indictment, Palmer distributed child pornography images and videos to an undercover FBI Task Force Agent over an Internet peer-to-peer network between the dates of March 30, 2014 and July 8, 2014. A federal search warrant was subsequently executed at Palmer’s residence and all computer-related items were seized. A forensic analysis of the evidence revealed over 300 images and videos of child pornography. Palmer is a registered sex offender stemming from a 2009 conviction for possessing child pornography.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Ft. Myers Office and the Charlotte County Sherriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tama Koss Caldarone.

This 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 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 sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.