Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the return of an indictment charging Mauricio Flores (36, Davenport) with possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). If convicted, Flores faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Flores that the United States intends to forfeit a cellphone, which is alleged to have been used in furtherance of the offense.
According to court documents, Flores’s residence was the subject of a search warrant related to activity on a dark web site dedicated to CSAM. Investigators seized devices belonging to Flores and found files containing CSAM on a cellphone.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Muriel Moore.
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 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.