Source: United States Department of Justice News
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber has sentenced Christian Kline (32, Moore Haven) to 27 years and 3 months in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for distribution of child sex abuse material. The court also ordered Kline to forfeit the electronic devices used in the commission of the offense and entered an order of restitution to the victims in the amount of $24,000. Kline had pleaded guilty on August 3, 2022.
According to court documents, in 2016, Kline was convicted in the Middle District of Florida for transportation of child sex abuse material. He was sentenced to 5 years and 10 months’ imprisonment, followed by 20 years of supervised release. While on supervised release, Kline was subject to routine polygraph examinations. During one such examination with U.S. Probation, Kline revealed that he had been downloading images and videos of child sexual abuse from the dark web. Further investigation revealed that Kline possessed numerous electronic devices which contained images and videos of child sexual abuse, including images and videos that Kline had distributed to another individual.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilyssa Spergel.
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.