Originally Posted - November 16, 2006

return home

TAMPA, FLA---A former Polk County sheriff's officer has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison to be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release for distribution and possession of child pornography via computer.

James P. Odle, 24, of Winter Haven, Fla., pleaded guilty to the charges on Aug. 11.

According to court documents, at the time the offenses were committed, Odle was employed by the Polk County Sheriff's Office as a civilian detention technician at the South County Jail facility in Frostproof. he used a desktop computer to transmit images of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct to another individual with whom he was communicating online. A search warrant was executed at Odle's residence, and forensic examination of the computers and electronic storage devices revealed in excess of 5,000 images, including three video files, of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including the FBI's Innocent Images Task Force.

The FBI's Innocent Images Task Force is a multi-agency task force comprised of the FBI, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, the Largo Police Department, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, the Lakeland Police Department, and the U.S. Probation Office. The Task Force is an intelligence driven, proactive investigative initiative that combats the proliferation of child pornography and child sexual exploitation facilitated by the Internet. The mission of the Innocent Images Task Force is to reduce the vulnerability of children to acts of sexual exploitation and abuse facilitated through computers; to identify and rescue witting and unwitting child victims; and to investigate and prosecute sexual predators who use the Internet to sexually exploit children for personal and financial gain.
11-16-06

© 2006 North Country Gazette