Dustin Shane Sandiford, Child Sex Abuse Images, Florida 2022

OCALA, Florida – Dustin Shane Sandiford, a 31-year-old man from Citrus Springs, Florida, has pleaded guilty to using a minor to produce child sex abuse images, a federal crime that carries a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.

According to the plea agreement, agents seized a cellphone from Sandiford on December 2, 2020, pursuant to a search warrant. The phone contained a cloud storage application tied to accounts that Sandiford used to hoard more than 17,000 images and videos depicting children being sexually abused.

Further investigation revealed that Sandiford had enlisted another Citrus County resident to produce child sexual abuse images of an underage relative and send them to Sandiford. This material was also found on one of Sandiford’s cloud storage accounts.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which has been working tirelessly to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The FBI’s investigation is part of a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the government to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children.

Sandiford was indicted on June 30, 2021, and his sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 21, 2022. The plea agreement requires Sandiford to cooperate with the government’s investigation and provide any additional information that may be relevant to the case.

This case is another example of the government’s commitment to protecting children from exploitation and abuse. The government will continue to work with law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute individuals who engage in such heinous crimes.

Dustin Shane Sandiford, a 31-year-old resident of Citrus Springs, Florida, was indicted on June 30, 2021, and has pleaded guilty to using a minor to produce child sex abuse images.

Sandiford faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 21, 2022.

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