CROSS CITY CORRECTIONAL OFFICER CHARGED WITH CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - Devin Waldeck, 35, of Cross City, Florida, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with one count of sexual exploitation of children and one count of distribution of material constituting child pornography. The charges were announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

If convicted, Waldeck faces a minimum of fifteen years', and up to thirty years', imprisonment on the sexual exploitation of children count, and a minimum of five years', and up to twenty years', imprisonment on the distribution of material constituting child pornography count.

The case involves an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Dixie County Sheriff's Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christie S. Utt.

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 and led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it 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 https://www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation's principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney's Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.