Fort Myers man sentenced to 7 years for distributing child pornography

FORT MYERS, Fla. – A Fort Myers man was sentenced to seven years in prison Jan. 6 for distributing child pornography. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with participation from the Sanibel Police Department, the Fort Myers Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

Charles Allen Nave III, 39, must also forfeit a Dell Precision laptop and a 2 GB Secure Digital card, which were used to commit the offense.

According to court documents, on Jan. 31, 2013, Nave knowingly distributed child pornography over the Internet to an undercover agent he met in an online chat room. He sent the undercover agent four emails, along with images of child pornography as attachments. Subsequent to the execution of a search warrant, Nave had more than 300 images and 20 videos of child pornography in his possession.

Nave was found guilty Sept. 17.

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 2013, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

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. 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.