Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced To 10 Years For Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Images And Videos

Orlando, Florida – United States District Judge Roy B. Dalton has sentenced Patrick James Sperber (45, Apopka), a registered sex offender, to 10 years in federal prison for possession of child sexual abuse images and videos. Sperber had pleaded guilty on May 17, 2023.

In 1999, Sperber was convicted of lewd and lascivious assault on a child. As a result, he is registered and designated as a sexual offender.

According to court documents, on April 17, 2021, an Electronic Service Provider (ESP) submitted a CyberTip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). This NCMEC referral indicated that an individual with the username “P.J. Sperber” had uploaded several videos depicting the sexual abuse of minors while using a messenger application of the ESP. Further investigation traced the Internet Protocol (IP) address used to upload the videos to Sperber’s residence.

 On April 15, 2022, FBI agents executed a search warrant for Sperber’s residence and seized his cellphone. A forensic review of Sperber’s cellphone revealed child sex abuse imagery and videos. Sperber admitted to viewing child sex abuse imagery and videos using a chat app account on his cellphone. Several of the child sex abuse videos found on Sperber’s cellphone depicted children under the age of 12 being sexually abused.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Terry B. Livanos.

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.