JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 57-year-old Palm Coast man has pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography over the Internet, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Friday.
Gioacchino Campo faces a minimum mandatory penalty of five years and up to 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
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According to court documents, an FBI agent in Jacksonville began an undercover investigation to identify individuals that were accessing or trading images or videos depicting child pornography over the Internet. The agent identified a computer that was hosting images using a file sharing program, and the agent was able to download several files depicting child pornography from that computer. The computer was traced to Campo's residence.
On March 11, 2014, agents and officers executed a federal search warrant at Campo's residence and seized computers and other electronic media. During an interview, Campo stated that he had been downloading child pornography, and first became involved with it about five years ago. Forensic analyses of Campo's computer revealed that it contained at least 50 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Jacksonville and Daytona Beach.
The case was brought as 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. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.