Tallahassee Man Sentenced to 180 Months for Production of Child Pornography

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Milton Sumrell, 43, of Tallahassee, was sentenced today in the U.S. District Court in Tallahassee to 180 months after pleading guilty on August 23, 2018, to production of child pornography.  The sentence was announced by Christopher P. Canova, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

In late January 2018, A.F., a 16-year-old girl from Trumann, Arkansas, was reported missing from her home.  Law enforcement officers recovered a computer A.F. used at her school and identified multiple sexually explicit online chats between A.F. and individuals believed to be adult males.  One of the accounts with whom A.F. had been chatting through the Google messenger application, Google Hangouts, was subscribed to Sumrell.  During conversations between A.F. and Sumrell in late October 2017, the two discussed A.F. leaving her home to live with Sumrell.  Law enforcement officers visited Sumrell’s residence in an attempt to locate A.F, who was not present there but was later found.  Agents seized Sumrell’s laptop computer and cellular telephone, which had images of child pornography.  His Google account also contained videos of child pornography.

U.S. Attorney Canova said, “Tragically, child predators use the Internet to reach their vulnerable victims.  Nothing is more important than protecting children from exploitation.”

“This predator’s criminal acts will have life-long effects on a child, and now he is being held accountable,” said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero.  “This case also highlights the importance of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies working together to make our communities safer.”

“The FBI Jacksonville Division is committed to identifying predators who target the children in this community, and we will continue to provide our law enforcement partners with resources as needed to bring to justice those who commit these heinous acts,” said Charles P. Spencer, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division.

FDLE Special Agent in Charge, Mark Perez of the Tallahassee Regional Operations Center, said: “FDLE will continue to be relentless in its goal to apprehend individuals who prey on children.  I sincerely appreciate the efforts and time of all of our federal, state, and local partners involved in this case.”

The case was investigated by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, and the Trumann Police Department (Arkansas).  Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Harwin prosecuted the case.

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.