Richard W. Mills, Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material, Florida 2024

A Brevard County man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for possessing images depicting the sexual abuse of children, according to a recent sentencing in U.S. District Court.

Richard W. Mills, 50, was found guilty of possession of child pornography and sentenced to 6 years and 6 months in federal prison, followed by a 5-year term of supervised release in 2014. Mills completed his term of incarceration on November 13, 2019, and his federal supervised release began the same date.

As a result of a citizen complaint, on November 2, 2023, officers from U.S. Probation made an unannounced visit to Mills’ place of employment for inspection of his mobile device to ensure compliance with the special condition of his supervised release. The investigation led the probation officers to perform a home inspection, where they discovered that Mills had a smartphone and computer. Upon executing a federal search warrant, the laptop’s hard drive was found to contain approximately 330 tagged thumbnail images and one video that clearly depicted the sexual abuse of infants and young children.

Additionally, Mills was sentenced to six months in federal prison for violating the terms of his supervised release. This sentence is to be served consecutive to the 10 years imposed in this criminal case.

The court also ordered Mills to forfeit a computer and hard drive, which were used in furtherance of the commission of the offense. As part of his sentence, the court also ordered Mills to pay restitution in the amount of $12,000.

Mills entered a guilty plea on April 16, 2024.

This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilianys Rivera Miranda.

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

The defendant, Richard W. Mills, is a resident of Brevard County. The exact criminal charges against Mills include possession of images depicting the sexual abuse of children. The city and state involved in this case are Orlando, Florida. The exact date of the crime is not specified, but the sentencing occurred on April 16, 2024. Mills was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and six months in federal prison for violating the terms of his supervised release, with the sentences to be served consecutive.

The exact dollar amount of the restitution ordered is $12,000.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/sex-offender-sentenced-10-years-possessing-child-sexual-abuse-material