Gainesville Man Sentenced to 240 Months Prison for Distribution of Child Pornography

GAINESVILLE, FL—Arthur Brent Stanley, age 62, of Waldo, Florida, was sentenced Monday to 240 months in federal prison followed by a lifetime on supervised release for the receipt, distribution, and possession of child pornography. Evidence introduced at Stanley’s sentencing established that between February 17, 2010, and June 30, 2010, Stanley used a peer-to-peer file sharing program to receive and distribute child pornography over the Internet. A federal search warrant was executed at Stanley’s business, “Crocodile Creek Signs,” at the Waldo Flea Market on June 30, 2010. That search warrant found that Stanley was in possession of computers containing over 60,000 images and videos of child pornography. A number of the images depicted children as young as infants, and involved sadistic and masochistic conduct. Defendant Stanley was living in Waldo, Florida under the alias “Stanley Yates” after having fled from California in 1982 from charges related to the sexual exploitation of a 10-year-old child.

Ms. Marsh praised the work of the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Gainesville Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, whose joint investigation led to Stanley’s conviction and sentence.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006, 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, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to 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.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Williams.