United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Alabama

10/29/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/29/2024 13:22

Previously Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Receiving and Distributing Child Pornography

Press Release

Previously Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Receiving and Distributing Child Pornography

Tuesday, October 29, 2024
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Alabama

MOBILE, AL - Charles Joseph Thorne Floyd, age 31, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison after entering a guilty plea one count of receiving and distributing child pornography. Floyd entered his guilty plea on June 25, 2024.

According to court documents, in the months of July and August 2023 a detective with the Mobile County Sheriff's Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force was utilizing investigative software to identify subjects involved in the dissemination of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). The detective identified an IP address that was making CSAM available for download. Over seven different dates, the detective was able to download approximately 90 videos containing CSAM from that IP address. The detective was able to identify a residence in Foley that was associated with the IP address. Floyd was a resident of that address. Floyd's phone was seized examined and revealed search terms indicative of CSAM and 321 images of CSAM. The images included depictions of prepubescent children. On November 21, 2023, Floyd entered a guilty plea in Conecuh County to one count of Sodomy, 2nd Degree for offenses that occurred in 2016 involving a minor child.

At sentencing, United States District Judge William Steele imposed a 240-month sentence of incarceration and a 25-year term of supervised release upon his future release. During his term of imprisonment, Floyd will be subject to sex offender treatment, substance abuse testing and treatment, and mental health treatment. Floyd will be required to register as a sex offender and is to have no contact with minors. Floyd was ordered to pay $100 in special assessments.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Mobile County Sheriff's Office Internet Crimes Against Children Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kacey Chappelear prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

This 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, 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc/publications-resources

Updated October 29, 2024