OCALA, Fla. — The DOJ announced that a 21-year-old man from Tampa has been charged with distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
U.S. Attorney Greg Kehoe announced the charges against Aspen Cartwright Wednesday. If convicted, Cartwright faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
Kehoe said in the announcement that, based on court records, Cartwright allegedly engaged in a sexually explicit conversation in May of 2025 with someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl. Then, on May 22 of that year, he is accused of having distributed an image of child pornography.
“The minor was actually an undercover agent from Homeland Security Investigations,” Kehoe said in the announcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg will prosecute the case, the DOJ said, adding that HSI and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office investigated it.
The DOJ also noted that an indictment is a formal charge, adding that “every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.”