WEST PALM BEACH, FL – On Tuesday, February 1, 2022, a federal district judge in West Palm Beach sentenced a 47-year-old man from Stuart, Florida to 447 months in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for producing child pornography, possessing child pornography, and committing a felony offense involving a minor while being required to register as a sex offender.
Gernard Clark, Sr. first came to the attention of law enforcement after a minor reported to a school resource officer that Clark had sexually battered her. Law enforcement investigated and discovered on the SD card of Clark’s cellular telephone more than 500 sexually explicit images and more than 40 sexually explicit videos of the minor female taken when she was between 14 and 15 years old. Clark was previously convicted of Lewd and Lascivious Indecent Act with a Child Under 16 Years of Age in the 19th Judicial Circuit of the State of Florida, Martin County and, as a result, was required to register as a sex offender.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami Field Office, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg. FBI Miami — in particular, FBI Miami’s Child Exploitation Task Force — investigated this case, with the assistance of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey Bergstrom is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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 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. For more information about the Project Safe Childhood initiative and for information regarding Internet safety, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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