Florida graduate student sentenced to 8 years for receiving child pornography

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A Florida State University graduate student was sentenced Monday to 97 months in federal prison followed by lifetime supervised release for the receiving child pornography.

This investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Evidence introduced at sentencing showed that on April 29, 2010, Michael Alan Reaid, 28, of Tallahassee, was found possessing about 24,000 images of child pornography, including sadistic and masochistic images, and depictions of sex acts with children as young as 2 years old. Reaid had also saved 53 "role playing chats" in which he acted out the sexual molestation of children.

The court imposed the following special conditions of supervision: that Reaid receive treatment for sex offense, alcohol, and drug issues; that he register as a sex offender; that he have no access to minors; that he notify future employers of his conviction; and that any computer he possesses be subject to search by law enforcement officers, with or without a warrant.

Before his arrest, Reaid was pursuing a master's degree in cellular and molecular biology from Florida State University.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to identify, investigate and arrest those who prey on children, including human traffickers, international sex tourists, Internet pornographers, and foreign-national predators whose crimes make them deportable.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael T. Simpson for the Northern District of Florida.