Kissimmee man sentenced to 5 years in federal prison for receipt of child pornography
ORLANDO, Fla. — A Kissimmee man was sentenced Wednesday to five years in federal prison for receipt of child pornography. He must also register as a sex offender and serve 10 years of supervised release after he completes his prison term. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Custom's Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
According to the evidence presented at the sentencing hearing, Alexander Lee, 31, used a peer-to-peer program to download child pornography. On Oct. 9, 2012, HSI special agents, along with agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, executed a federal search warrant at Lee's apartment. A forensic review of Lee's computer revealed he downloaded 1,047 images of child pornography on Feb. 19, 2012. Further forensic review revealed that Lee downloaded more than 100,000 images and videos of child pornography.
"Receiving child pornography is not a victimless crime. It haunts the children depicted in it, who live daily with the knowledge that countless strangers use an image of their worst experiences for their own gratification," said Susan McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa, which oversees the agency's Orlando office that conducted this investigation. "It is our duty as special agents to find and arrest these child predators and ensure they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Lee pleaded guilty June 26, 2012.
This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 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, 1-800-843-5678.
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.
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