Orange County Sex Offender Convicted For Possessing And Receiving Child Pornography

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury has found Ashley Anders Bishop (42, Orlando) guilty of one count of possessing and four counts of receiving child pornography. Bishop was previously convicted of a sex offense and, as a result, faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years, up to 20 years, in federal prison for the possession count, and a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years, up to 40 years, for each count of receiving child pornography. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 6, 2015. In reaching their decision, the jury made a special finding that certain exhibits depicted children under the age of 12.

Bishop was indicted on May 27, 2015.

According to the testimony presented at trial, on October 6, 2000, in Orange County, Bishop was convicted of attempting to commit lascivious molestation on a child under the age of 12 and was sentenced to a 15-year prison term. After his release, Bishop, a registered sex offender, was arrested on two different occasions, and each time had a cellphone in his possession. Both phones were searched pursuant to state search warrants and found to contain child pornography.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and the Orange County Department of Corrections. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ilianys Rivera Miranda.

This 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 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 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.