JACKSONVILLE, FL—United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that Jeremy Chris Cartrette (38, Yulee) has pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography over the Internet. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years, up to 20 years, in federal prison, and a potential life term of supervision. The plea agreement also requires Cartrette to forfeit his computer media and to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. A sentencing hearing has not yet been set.

According to court documents, an FBI task force officer began an undercover investigation to identify individuals in the Jacksonville area who were using an online network to receive and distribute images and videos of child pornography over the Internet. The officer was able to determine that a host computer using a particular Internet Protocol address was associated with known child pornography, and was able to connect to this computer and download several images that depicted child pornography. Information from the Internet service provider revealed that this host computer was located at a residence in Yulee, Florida, where Jeremy Chris Cartrette lived.

On June 19, 2015, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at Cartrette’s residence and seized a laptop computer and an external hard disk drive. During an interview with agents, Cartrette stated that he began downloading child pornography “a couple of years ago,” and that he had tried to quit before but that he “always comes back to it.” A forensic analysis of his computer media revealed at least 7 videos and 19 images of child pornography.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office. It is being 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 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.”