Richard Dale Brooks, Child Pornography, Florida 2014

Jacksonville, FL – In a shocking verdict, a federal jury has found a local man guilty of receiving and possessing child pornography. Richard Dale Brooks, 55, of Cocoa, Florida, was found guilty of five counts of receiving videos of child pornography and one count of possessing an image of child pornography using the Internet.

According to testimony and evidence introduced during the trial, Brooks was identified as the host computer user who accessed child pornography online in 2012. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at his residence, where they recovered five computers and several other computer media. Brooks allegedly told detectives that he was the primary user of the computer and had received child pornography via a file-sharing program.

A subsequent forensic analysis of Brooks’s computers revealed that he had at least 245 files depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct and compact discs and a DVD containing the same.

Brooks faces a minimum of five years, up to twenty years in federal prison on each of the five receipt charges, and up to ten years’ imprisonment on the possession charge. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 15, 2014.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and other agencies that comprise the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

It is another case 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.

Brooks’s conviction is a stark reminder of the dangers of child pornography and the need for continued vigilance in combating this heinous crime. As our community works to protect its most vulnerable citizens, we must remain committed to bringing perpetrators like Brooks to justice.

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