Port St. Lucie Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Possessing Child Pornography

Yesterday, Donald Rowley, 62, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Robin L. Rosenberg to 168 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release, after previously pleading guilty to possessing and receiving child pornography.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

            According to the court record, from July through December 2017, Rowley used a peer-2-peer internet network to search for, receive and share child pornography.  Upon executing a search warrant at Rowley’s home, law enforcement discovered computers with over 450 videos of child pornography, search terms for child pornography, and peer-2-peer software.

Rowley had previously pled guilty to committing a sex offense involving two young girls in 1988, in the State of Maryland.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better 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.

Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the FBI.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory Schiller.