Lake Wales Man Charged with Child Pornography Offenses

TAMPA—United States Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces the filing of a criminal complaint charging Clinton Duane Pancake (37, Riverview) with receipt, distribution, and transportation of child pornography. If convicted on all counts, Pancake faces a mandatory minimum of five years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of 40 years in federal prison.

The complaint alleges that Pancake distributed 14 images of child pornography over the Internet to an undercover agent in March 2012. Pancake admitted to downloading child pornography over the Internet, viewing it on his computer, and deleting it. Until recently, Pancake was Director of Student Activities at Warner University in Lake Wales, Florida.

A criminal complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Peresie.

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.”