Hawthorne Man Sentenced in Federal Court for Possession of Child Pornography

JACKSONVILLE, FL—United States Attorney A. Brian Albritton announces that U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Christian Montgomery Baldwin (age 25, of Hawthorne, Florida) to six years in federal prison and 20 years of supervised release for possessing child pornography. He has also been ordered to register as a sex offender. Baldwin had pleaded guilty on June 17, 2009, and has been in custody since December 2008.

According to the plea agreement, in December 2008, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), acting on the tip of a concerned citizen, began investigating Baldwin. A PCSO detective eventually obtained a search warrant for Baldwin’s residence and an arrest warrant for Baldwin. The search warrant was executed by PCSO officers and agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Baldwin was arrested, and the forensic analysis revealed that the computer contained two hard disk drives, one of which contained 28 videos of child pornography, including videos depicting very young children being sexually abused.

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 better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, and as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.