GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – A 45-year-old Green Cove Springs man was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison for production of child pornography.
Leonard Leland Walters Jr. was also sentenced for one count of transportation of child pornography.
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Walters will serve a life term of supervised released after his prison sentence.
According to court documents, in March 2015, Walters began communicating with an undercover law enforcement officer online, during which he bragged about having sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old on a regular basis.
Walters offered to assist the undercover officer with sexually abusing the undercover’s fictitious 14-year-old “niece.”
On or about March 24, 2015, Walters transmitted a photograph depicting an image of a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
On April 27, 2015, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office executed a federal search warrant at Walters’ residence in Green Cove Springs. Several electronic devices were seized and approximately 619 still images and 11 videos depicting a minor victim engaging in sexually explicit conduct, in many instances with Walters, were recovered.
"This sentence serves as a reminder of the gravity of this crime," said Susan L. McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa. "It’s also a testament to the dedicated HSI special agents who aggressively investigate these criminals, ensuring they receive the punishment they deserve.”
This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly S. Karase.
It is another case 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 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 victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."