Florida Attorney Sentenced To 90 Months In Prison For Receiving Child Pornography

 TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – David Wayne Aring, formerly of Tallahassee, Florida, was sentenced yesterday afternoon to 90 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to receipt of child pornography. Aring, 49, was an attorney employed by the State of Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation at the time of his arrest in January 2020. Lawrence Keefe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the sentence, which was handed down on Tuesday following Aring’s guilty plea last November.

“Child pornography is an offense that violates all standards of decency and causes incalculable harm to its victims, shattering their innocence and potentially devastating their lives,” U.S. Attorney Keefe said. “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to do everything in our power to stop and punish those who trade in it. Thanks to the skill and dedication of the professionals at Homeland Security Investigations and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, that’s exactly what happened to David Aring.”

From his former Tallahassee apartment between March 26, 2017, and December 2, 2019, Aring used a peer-to-peer file sharing program to download digital images and videos depicting child pornography. Executing a search warrant at Aring’s apartment on January 7, 2020, investigators located a USB storage device hidden in the back of a sock drawer, as well as a desktop computer. Investigators determined that the USB device contained thousands of digital files that depicted various types of child pornography, including animal bestiality and bondage involving children under the age of 12 (most notably infants and toddlers). Aring’s desktop computer was forensically analyzed and was found to contain thousands of additional digitals images that depicted child pornography. Installed on the desktop computer was a peer-to-peer file sharing program that allowed its users to search for terms germane to child pornography, and the program was found to have been used to download over 17,000 files since May 6, 2018.

“We are appreciative of the diligent work of our agents and our partners in Homeland Security Investigations that led to the apprehension of this individual, and grateful for the prosecutorial action of the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said Mark Perez, Special Agent in Charge of the FDLE Tallahassee Regional Operations Center. “Protecting the most vulnerable of our citizens will always be a priority of FDLE.”

Aring’s 90 month prison sentence will be followed by lifetime supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender, and will be subject to all sex offender conditions.

This case was jointly investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant United States Attorneys Justin M. Keen and Meredith Steer 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 for the Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.