Tampa man sentenced to nearly 14 years for distributing child pornography

TAMPA, Fla. – A Tampa man was sentenced Thursday to 13 years, seven months in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release for transporting child pornography via the Internet. The sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Tampa Police Department.

According to court documents, between October and December 2012, Michael Alan Klevene, 62, uploaded numerous videos and images of child pornography to the Internet. On Jan. 24, Klevene emailed an undercover HSI special agent links to the child pornography.

In February, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at Klevene’s residence. During an interview, Klevene confessed to possessing, downloading and transporting child pornography. He stated he had been collecting images and videos of child pornography for more than 20 years. Klevene also paid a prepubescent male, in Tampa, to photograph himself. Then, Klevene posted these photographs online to meet people interested in child pornography and to obtain more child pornography.

"Distributing child pornography is not a victimless crime," said Susan McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa. "We cannot repair the damage done to innocent children exploited for perverse pleasure, but we can continue to aggressively pursue and prosecute child predators like Klevene."

Klevene was found guilty June 4, 2013.

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.