Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. has sentenced Michael Paige Palmer (41, Virginia) to eight years and one month in federal prison for transportation and possession of child pornography. Palmer was also ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release and register as a sex offender.

Palmer was charged by a criminal complaint on December 24, 2017. He pleaded guilty on April 17, 2018.    

According to court documents and evidence presented during the sentencing hearing, Palmer initially came to the attention of Canadian law enforcement officials when they identified him during an investigation as someone who had shared child pornography with others. As a result, Palmer was identified when he disembarked a cruise ship in Port Canaveral (Florida). During a routine border search of Palmer’s electronic devices, law enforcement located five videos containing child pornography. In total, Palmer possessed 84 images and 254 videos of child pornography, some of which included the sexual abuse of young children.

“HSI’s border search authority allowed us to stop this child predator in his tracks,” said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero. “This significant sentencing underscores the severity of this crime and should serve as a warning to anyone who thinks they can harm children and get away with it.”

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Bayliss, on assignment from the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, ICE. 

This case was 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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.