U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Harlon David Prater (Jacksonville, 28) to 80 years in federal prison for producing photographs of his ongoing sexual assaults of an infant and 18-month-old child, and for distributing child sexual abuse material. The court also ordered Prater to a life term of supervised release and to pay restitution.
Prater had pleaded guilty on January 17, 2020.
According to court documents, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) began investigating reports of an individual sharing child sexual abuse material on social media and file-sharing applications. JSO determined that some of the files contained data indicating that the files were created at a residence in Duval County, Florida.
JSO detectives obtained a search warrant for the residence, where they encountered Prater. During an interview, Prater admitted to viewing and sharing child pornography. He also admitted that he had used his cellular telephone to produce files of child pornography depicting his sexual abuse of two different child victims. A forensic review of Prater’s cellular telephone revealed more than 900 images and more than 50 videos depicting the child exploitation of children. JSO forensics unit discovered photographs on Prater’s smart phone depicting Prater’s rape of an infant and also of an 18-month-old baby. Prater sent self-produced videos and images of child sexual abuse material to others using a social media application.
“These heinous crimes against children must come to an end,” said HSI Jacksonville Assistant Special Agent in Charge K. Jim Phillips. “The sentencing in this case represents how committed HSI and our partners are about removing dangerous predators from our streets.”
This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly S. Karase.
This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.
