St. Petersburg Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Possession and Transportation of Child Pornography

TAMPA, FL—U.S. Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces that U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew today sentenced Jeffrey T. Lobdell (44, St. Petersburg) to 10 years in federal prison for possession and transportation of child pornography. The court also ordered Lobdell to forfeit computer equipment, which he used to store child pornography. He pled guilty on January 25, 2012.

According to court documents, Lobdell possessed at least 2,299 images of child pornography at his residence in St. Petersburg. The child pornography was discovered by an undercover officer who found Lobdell on a peer-to-peer network and was able to download child pornography from his computer.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney.

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 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.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”