TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A Tallahassee man who was facing life in prison for federal child pornography charges has received the minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Milton Sumrell, 43, was indicted in May for multiple charges related to production of child pornography, enticement of a minor to perform illegal sex acts, and possession of child pornography.
Had he been convicted on those charges, Sumrell faced a minimum of 15 years and maximum of 30 years in prison for the production charge, a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison for the enticement charge, and a maximum of 10 years in prison for the possession charge.
However, Sumrell only plead guilty to the production of child pornography charges in August and was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday.
Documents say that in October and November of 2017, Sumrell tried to persuade a minor to have sex with him for the purpose of producing child pornography.
The child, who was a 16-year-old girl from Arkansas, had multiple sexually explicit online chats with Sumrell on her computer on Google Hangouts. During their conversations in late October 2017, they discussed the child leaving her home to live with Sumrell.
In late January 2018, the girl was reported missing from her home and law enforcement officers wen to Sumrell's home to find the child. They didn't find her at first but she was later found somewhere else.
Agents then seized Sumrell’s laptop computer and cellphone, which had images of child pornography. His Google account also contained videos of child pornography.
“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.”
Tallahassee man indicted on more than 30 child pornography charges
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A Tallahassee man could spend the rest of his life in federal prison after being indicted on multiple charges of child pornography and enticing a minor to perform illegal sexual acts.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Milton Sumrell, 43, was indicted on the production of child pornography, enticement of a minor to perform illegal sex acts, and possession of child pornography.
The indictment alleges that, in October and Nov. of 2017, Sumrell, tried to persuade a minor to have sex with him for the purpose of producing child pornography as well as persuade someone under the age of 18 to engage in sexual activity.
The document further states that, between Jan. and March, Sumrell possessed child pornography.
His trial is scheduled for June 11.
If convicted, Sumrell faces a minimum of 15 years and maximum of 30 years in prison for the production charge, a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison for the enticement charge, and a maximum of 10 years in prison for the possession charge.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A man who bonded out of jail after admitting to investigators in March that he had a child porn addiction has again been jailed on 22 additional counts of possession of child pornography.
Martin Sumrell, 43, was originally arrested in March 2018 on ten counts of possession of photographs depicting sexual performance by a child. He bonded out on those charges on March 15.
The State filed to upgrade the ten charges to aggravated possession of child pornography on March 28.
On April 10, Sumrell was charged with 22 additional counts of possession of child pornography after further investigation revealed he had child porn files stored on his online Google account.
The Leon County Sheriff's Office shared a wanted poster of Sumrell on Facebook Wednesday morning:
Hours later, Sumrell was taken into to custody and transported to the Leon County Detention Facility.
As of Wednesday, he remains in jail on a $154,000 bond.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A 43-year-old man has been arrested for child pornography after an investigation revealed he was communicating with a runaway child in a sexual manner.
According to arrest documents, the Leon County Sheriff's Office was notified on Jan. 30 about a child who went missing from the county three days earlier.
An initial investigation revealed that Martin Sumrell had been communicating with the missing child. Investigators learned the child had been communicating with multiple adult males in a sexual manner, Sumrell being one of them.
When deputies went to Sumrell's home on Shuler Court to talk to him on Jan. 31, they learned that he and the child were communicating through chat apps and his Google mail account.
Deputies searched his cellphone to see if he knew where the child was, but instead found an image containing child pornography on the device. Documents say deputies then requested to seize Sumrell's computer and cellphone, which he allowed.
Upon a thorough search of Sumrell's email account, investigators found what appeared to be "hundreds of digital videos of children engaged in sexual activity with adults."
According to the arrest document, deputies got a warrant to search Sumrell's laptop and cellphone on Feb. 2 and found additional child pornographic files.
On Thursday, LCSO, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI served a search warrant at Sumrell's residence.
When they spoke with him, Sumrell admitted that he had an addiction and often obtained child pornography via online applications like Kik messenger, iChatW and more.
He told investigators that he would look at the videos and delete them after he was done with them.
Based on the evidence, Sumrell was charged with 10 counts of possession of photographs depicting sexual performance by a child. Investigators say additional charges are forthcoming as they review the evidence.
Sumrell was taken to the Leon County Detention Facility and, as of Friday, remains there on a $25,000 bond.
