Steven Lee Carty, Possessing Child Sex Abuse Images, Florida 2023

Jacksonville, Florida – A 55-year-old man from Live Oak, Florida, has been arrested and charged with possessing child sex abuse images.

Steven Lee Carty, a registered sex offender, was arrested and charged with possessing child sex abuse images.

According to the complaint, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began investigating Carty in response to a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that had been provided by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) in July 2023.

The CyberTip indicated that child exploitation material had been uploaded to an account with an electronic service provider. Account information was provided for the user, which was connected to Carty. The IP history for the account that had uploaded the material was traced to Carty.

FDLE obtained a state search warrant for that account, and it was determined to contain the file from the CyberTip, along with additional files containing child sex abuse material.

Carty was listed as an offender on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Sexual Offenders and Predators registry following 2005 federal convictions for receiving, distributing, and possessing child sex abuse material.

If convicted, Carty faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up to 20 years, in federal prison, a potential life term of supervised release, and payment of restitution to the victims of his offense.

Carty has been ordered detained pending trial.

This case was investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.

The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

A complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

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