Brevard Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison for Distribution of Child Pornography

ORLANDO, FL—U.S. Attorney A. Brian Albritton announces that U.S. District Judge John Antoon, II today sentenced Robert Manuel Perez (age 54, of Brevard County) to 30 years in federal prison, to be followed by a life term of supervised release, for distributing child pornography. Perez had pleaded guilty on October 27, 2009. He was a registered sex offender at the time he distributed the child pornography.

According to court documents, Perez was convicted in March 2000 of two counts of committing a lewd and lascivious indecent act on two separate children in the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court in Brevard County, Florida. He was sentenced to 10 years of probation, and his probation was terminated early on April 18, 2005.

In May 2009, Perez, using the screen "Marky08," used a peer-to-peer file sharing program to distribute images and videos of child pornography to an undercover FBI agent (UC). During an undercover Internet session, the UC received an invitation from Perez to share files. The UC accepted the invitation, connected to Perez's computer, and browsed his shared files. Perez was sharing 4881 files totaling over 16 GB of data. The files had thumbnails and file names indicative of child pornography. The UC downloaded 12 pictures and videos of child pornography from Perez’s files.

Law enforcement agents then executed a federal search warrant at Perez's home and seized two computers. They located over 25,000 pictures and several hundred videos of child pornography. Many of the images and videos depicted sadistic conduct, including the molestation and sexual abuse of very young boys and infants. The agents also located chat logs from April 2009. In the chat logs, Perez chatted with another user about encrypting child pornography to conceal it from forensic examination and offered advice about engaging in sexual activity with a child.

The 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 the 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karen L. Gable.