Pensacola Sex Offender Sentenced To Federal Prison For New Child Pornography Offenses

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA - Donovan E. Whidden, 21, of Pensacola, Florida, was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to online receipt of child pornography. The sentence was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

"Protecting innocent children from sexual predators remains one of our highest priorities," said U.S. Attorney Coody. "I commend our law enforcement partners and prosecutors who work tirelessly to identify these predators and bring them to justice so that they may never exploit a child again. Due to their collective efforts, our community is safer, and this repeat offender is exactly where he belongs - behind bars."

In September 2023, the Pensacola Police Department received cybertips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that led back to Whidden's residence. Law enforcement was aware that Whidden was on state court probation for a conviction for Promoting Sexual Performance by a Child in 2022. A search warrant was obtained for his residence, and law enforcement located evidence of Whidden utilizing the media platform Discord to upload and obtain child pornography. Whidden also used a cloud storage platform to maintain his child pornography.

"We must always protect our children. Our relentless pursuit to hunt down sexual predators remains a top priority for our law enforcement partners," said Pensacola Police Chief Eric Randall. "Let this sentence be a reminder to anyone that wants to hurt our children, we will find you and use every available law enforcement resource to get justice."

Whidden's prison sentence will be followed by 10 years of supervised release, and he will be required to register as a sex offender and will be subject to all sex offender conditions.

"This recidivist predator once again showed no respect for humanity by actively collecting and trading child sexual abuse material online," said HSI Tallahassee Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Ingegno. "Thanks to the investigative efforts of our persistent special agents and the Pensacola Police Department, this repeat offender will now spend well deserved time behind bars."

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Pensacola Police Department, and the other investigate agencies that comprise the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Northern Florida. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David L. Goldberg and Jessica S. Etherton prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice and led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation's principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney's Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.