Martin County Man Pleads Guilty to Producing Videos of the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, and Sheriff William D. Snyder of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office announced that on Oct. 21, 2019, Torrie Chermaine Austin, 35, of Stuart, Florida, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg in West Palm Beach, Florida to one count of production of visual depictions of the sexual exploitation of a minor.

According the court documents, between April and Nov. 2018, Austin produced video recordings of his sexual exploitation and abuse of an 11 year old child.

At his sentencing, scheduled for Jan. 3, 2020 in Ft. Pierce, Florida, Austin faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, a maximum statutory sentence of 30 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release and a requirement that he register as a sex offender (Case No. 19cr14016).

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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, 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 the Project Safe Childhood initiative and for information regarding Internet safety, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and Martin County Sheriff’s Office in this matter.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Lineberger.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.