Source: United States Department of Justice News
Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard today sentenced Richard Earl Jenkins, Jr. (45, Jacksonville) to 25 years in federal prison, followed by10 years of supervised release for using a minor to produce sexually explicit images. Jenkins had pleaded guilty on November 10, 2021.
According to court documents, on November 2 and 3, 2019, a 12-year-old child, Child Victim 1 (CV1) spent the night at Jenkins’s residence. On November 6, 2019, an officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) was dispatched to CV1’s mother’s residence regarding a complaint by CV1’s mother. While CV1 was spending the night at the defendant’s residence, she discovered a folder on the defendant’s computer with her name on it. CV1 said she opened the folder and discovered sexually explicit images of herself, from when she was younger to more recent.
On November 7, 2019, a JSO detective applied for, was granted, and executed a state search warrant at the defendant’s residence. The desktop computer described by CV1 was located in the defendant’s bedroom. A folder was observed on the bottom of the task bar, and when selected, revealed a folder named “[CV1]”.
JSO conducted a forensic review of the devices seized. Several images depicting CV1 were discovered on the devices. In addition to the images of CV1, hundreds of images of child sex abuse material were also discovered.
“Producers of child pornography are the worst of the worst, making victims of society’s most vulnerable victims” said HSI Jacksonville Assistant Special Agent in Charge K. Jim Phillips. “Through HSI’s law enforcement partnership with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, this predator will now be held accountable for his heinous actions.”
This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.
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 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.justice.gov/psc.