Harlon David Prater, Child Pornography, Florida 2020

A Jacksonville man has been found guilty of producing and distributing images of child sex abuse, according to a recent federal indictment.

Harlon David Prater, 28, of Jacksonville, pleaded guilty to two counts of producing images depicting the sexual abuse of children, and one count of transporting images of child sex abuse, federal authorities said. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 4, 2020.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received reports from a social networking and file-sharing provider that a particular user was sharing images of child sex abuse. NCMEC determined that the images had been created in Duval County.

Detectives and officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) executed a search warrant at Prater’s residence and discovered a stash of over 900 images and 50 videos of children being sexually abused.

During an interview, Prater admitted to viewing and sharing images of child sex abuse and confessed to using his cellphone to produce images of babies being sexually abused.

Prater faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years, and up to 80 years, in federal prison, and a potential life term of supervised release, authorities said.

The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly S. Karase.

This case is another example of the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, and is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the federal government to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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