Gainesville Man Sentenced To 15 Years In Federal Prison For Production Of Child Pornography

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Howard Baxter Osgood, 78, of Gainesville, was sentenced on Wednesday, September 30, to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of production of child pornography. As a part of his sentence, Osgood was fined $35,000 and was ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution to the victim. In addition, after serving his term of imprisonment, Osgood will begin a lifetime term of supervised release. Lawrence Keefe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the sentence.

“This sentence sends a strong message to those who exploit children and cause severe and lasting trauma for their victims,” said U.S. Attorney Keefe. “With the dedicated help of our law enforcement partners, we will bring every investigative and prosecutorial resource to bear in order to protect our children from sexual predators like Osgood.”

The undisputed facts demonstrated that Osgood had a continuing relationship with a 14 year old girl beginning in June 2011, and created sexually explicit images of her, including an image when she was 17.  Osgood was a prominent jeweler in the Gainesville area. 

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Williams.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website.  For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.