Tampa man sentenced to more than 17 years for receipt of child pornography

TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa man living on Davis Island was sentenced Friday to 17.5 years in federal prison for receipt of child pornography, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Scott O. Callahan, 40, Tampa, pleaded guilty on May 26.

According to court documents, he possessed more than 17,000 images and 500 videos of child pornography when a search warrant was executed at his home on Feb. 22.

Callahan also engaged in Internet chats with an individual from the United Kingdom who was abusing his children and photographing the abuse. Callahan received approximately 32 images showing the abuse of the children from the individual in the United Kingdom.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara C. Sweeney.

The 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-2-ICE. 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.