PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Stephen D. Regis, Jr., 31, of Navarre, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for the production, receipt, and possession of child pornography, as well as the transfer of obscene materials to minors. The sentence was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

“There is no greater charge than the protection of our children,” said U.S. Attorney Coody. “This sentence is yet another example of the unwavering commitment to the protection of our most vulnerable and should serve as a significant deterrent to those who would attempt to harm them. We will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those who engage in such heinous conduct.”

Regis was indicted for victimizing seven minor females in the Gulf Breeze and Navarre, Florida areas. As alleged in the indictment, Regis engaged in the production, receipt, and possession of child pornography in 2021.  Regis chose a trial by jury, and a federal jury in Pensacola, Florida, found him guilty of all twenty-one counts of the indictment in late 2022. The trial evidence revealed that Regis used the social media platform Snapchat to communicate with his victims.  On Snapchat, Regis requested the victims produce or send child pornography and, in return, he would meet the minor females to provide them with electronic cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana.  During the course of this conduct, Regis also sent the minor females graphic sexual images and videos of himself and personally requested sexual acts from them.

“This arrest shows that our local agencies cooperating with the DOJ can make a substantial impact on those individuals who produce child pornography,” said Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson. “Hopefully, this will deter anyone else from even thinking about following Regis’ footsteps.”

Regis’ prison sentence will be followed by a lifetime of federal supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender and be subject to all sex offender conditions.

“We are witnessing an epidemic through social media and the internet when it comes to the sexual exploitation of our children. It’s imperative that our children are taught the dangers of online predators,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tallahassee Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Ingegno. “Thanks to the partnerships we have with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Florida Highway Patrol, we are able to stop predators like this from victimizing our children.”

This case resulted from a joint investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Florida Highway Patrol. Assistant United States Attorneys David L. Goldberg and Jennifer H. Callahan prosecuted the case.

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 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.

Original source can be found here.