JACKSONVILLE, FL—United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces today that Ronald Eugene Mabrey, Jr. (34, Callahan) 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. A sentencing hearing has not yet been set. Mabrey has been in custody since his arrest.

According to court documents, on July 28, 2015, FBI agents and other law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at Mabrey’s residence. During an interview, Mabrey admitted that he had searched for, downloaded, and viewed “all types” of child pornography, and he stated that his addiction to child pornography had started about four years ago. A subsequent forensic examination of Mabrey’s laptop and a thumb drive revealed more than 190 videos and at least 4,000 images depicting child pornography.

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

This 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.justice.gov/psc.