Ashley Renea Hilligoss, Child Sex Abuse Image Production, Florida 2024

A 37-year-old Citrus County woman has been arrested for producing and distributing child sex abuse images, federal authorities announced.

Ashley Renea Hilligoss, 37, of Citrus Springs, was taken into custody on a criminal complaint charging her with the production and distribution of images depicting the sexual abuse of a child, according to Acting United States Attorney Karin Hoppmann.

The complaint alleges that Hilligoss took sexually explicit photographs of a child to whom she had access and sent these photos to another individual over the internet. Federal agents later searched an encrypted online file storage account belonging to that individual, which contained copies of the photographs.

Hilligoss faces a maximum penalty of 50 years in federal prison and a potential life term of supervised release if convicted on both counts, Hoppmann said.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty, Hoppmann added.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ocala Resident Agency, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William S. Hamilton.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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