Palm Beach Gardens Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison on Federal Child Pornography Charges

U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro the of the FBI’s Miami Field Office announced that Matthew Tassin, 37, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, was sentenced to prison last week on federal child pornography charges.

Tassin previously pled guilty to distribution of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(2), and possession of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(4)(B) (Case No. 19cr80064).  On September 26, 2019, U.S. District Rodolfo A. Ruiz, II, sentenced Tassin to 20 years in prison, to be followed by 15 years of supervised release.  Tassin was also ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to the victims.             

According to court records, Tassin engaged in conversations in the social media application “Kik” with other individuals to obtain and share images and videos of child pornography.  Those images and videos included pre-pubescent children engaged in forced sexual acts. 

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 visitwww.projectsafechildhood.gov.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI in this matter.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller.