JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 51-year-old Jacksonville man who pleaded guilty to distributing images of child sexual abuse over the internet will spend at least five years in prison.
Marc Lionel Lewis admitted to the federal charge and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years, and up to 20 years in federal prison, and a potential life term of supervised release.
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He must also register as a sex offender.
A sentencing date has not been set.
According to court documents, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began an investigation to identify individuals who were using a particular file-sharing network to access and distribute child pornography over the internet.
Agents confirmed that a host computer located in Jacksonville was offering files depicting child pornography for sharing over the internet and were able to download images of young children being sexually abused from this host computer.
Further investigation revealed that these files were being shared over the internet by Lewis at his Jacksonville residence.
On July 17, 2017, HSI agents executed a federal search warrant at Lewis’ residence and seized several computer devices. Forensic analysis of the computer media revealed approximately 37 images of child pornography and 142 images of child erotica.
Lewis had attempted to delete these files using anti-forensic software, but the contraband images, as well as evidence of the file-sharing program, remained and were recovered.
By accessing and downloading child pornography through the file-sharing program, Lewis knowingly made it available for sharing and distribution to other users over the internet.