Jacksonville, Florida - A Florida man was sentenced to seven years and 11 months in federal prison February 26 on five counts of receiving child pornography over the Internet and one count of possessing child pornography. The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
At trial, the government presented evidence that law enforcement had identified Richard Dale Brooks, 55, of Cocoa, while investigating individuals sharing child pornography via a peer-to-peer file-sharing program in May 2012. Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Brooks' Jacksonville residence and discovered several computers containing child pornography. Specifically, agents discovered that Brooks had received at least 49 still images and 78 video files of child pornography, including depictions of prepubescent minors and child pornography material portraying sadistic and masochistic conduct, and depictions of violence.
“One single image of a child being harmed is horrific, and this predator had more than 125 damaging images or videos,” said Susan L. McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa. “I am proud of the work of our special agents and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office in removing this criminal from our communities.”
According to court documents, Brooks requested a sentence of 60 months' imprisonment, the lowest available sentence under the law, in light of his 20-year military career and his lack of criminal history. A federal jury found Brooks guilty after a three-day trial in June 2014.
This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,300 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1000 victims identified or rescued.
HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.
For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.
HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.
