Brett Eugene Baldwin, Possessing & Receiving CSAM, Florida 2023

A 43-year-old Mount Dora man has been found guilty of possessing and receiving child sexual abuse material, with a possible maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each count.

Following a bench trial, U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber found Brett Eugene Baldwin guilty of one count of possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and three counts of receiving CSAM.

The crimes were committed in Ocala, Florida, where law enforcement seized Baldwin's cellphone during an unrelated state investigation on November 28, 2023.

According to evidence presented at trial, the extraction of Baldwin's cellphone revealed that he had thousands of files depicting CSAM, primarily of young children.

After his first cellphone was seized, Baldwin obtained a second cellphone, which was later seized and searched pursuant to a warrant. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) found that Baldwin had downloaded thousands of files depicting CSAM onto his second cellphone.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Mount Dora Police Department, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg is prosecuting the case.

The guilty verdict marks another victory for Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Brett Eugene Baldwin faces a minimum sentence of 5 years on each receipt count. The sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/mount-dora-man-found-guilty-possessing-and-receiving-child-sexual-abuse-material