Columbia County Man Sentenced to Six Years in Federal Prison for Receiving Child Pornography Over the Internet

JACKSONVILLE, FL—United States District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. sentenced Robert Allen Brammer (24, High Springs) yesterday to 72 months in federal prison for receiving child pornography over the Internet. Brammer was also sentenced to a term of 10 years’ supervised release upon completion of his prison term, and was required by the court to register as a sex offender and forfeit his computer media.

According to court documents, a detective working with the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force began an undercover operation to identify persons using a particular file-sharing program on the Internet to obtain and share child pornography. The detective determined that other law enforcement officers had identified a computer using a particular Internet protocol (IP) address in Florida that was observed offering images of child pornography for distribution. Subsequent investigation revealed that, during the time frame that this IP address was seen offering images of child pornography for distribution, the subscriber for this Internet service account was an individual located at the residence of Robert Allen Brammer in High Springs.

On September 3, 2010, a federal search warrant was executed at Brammer’s residence. During the search, officers seized, among other things, a laptop computer and a desktop tower computer. During an interview, Brammer stated, among other things, that he began searching for and downloading child pornography approximately three-and-a-half years ago, and that he used file-sharing programs to search for and download child pornography from the Internet. A subsequent forensic analysis of Brammer’s computer media revealed at least 28 images and 15 videos of child pornography.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

It is another case 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 the 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 Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc for more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”