JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Chief United States District Judge Marcia Morales Howard sentenced Alexander Charles Whitaker, 41, of Jacksonville, on the charge. He will also serve a lifetime of supervised release following his prison term. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced the sentence.
According to court documents, law enforcement received a cybertip indicating a social media user from Jacksonville had uploaded CSAM files. Officers obtained a search warrant for the account and identified it as belonging to Whitaker.
A subsequent review of Whitaker’s Facebook account led to a second search warrant for his home, where officers seized and searched his cellphone. The phone contained more than 100 images and videos depicting CSAM.
Whitaker was on probation at the time of the offense, following a Florida state prison sentence for possession of child pornography.
“Because Whitaker has been classified as a sexually violent predator, once he serves his prison sentence, under Florida law, he will be committed to a security facility for control, care, and treatment,” according to court documents.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Northeast Florida INTERCEPT Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Cannizzaro prosecuted the case.
The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The program marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children. More information is available at justice.gov/psc.
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.