Producing Child Pornography Lands Tampa Man In Federal Prison

TAMPA, FL — U.S. District Judge Kathryn Mizelle has sentenced Mark Peterson, 30, of Tampa, to 36 years and 8 months in federal prison for producing and distributing child sex abuse material.

The court also ordered Peterson to forfeit electronic devices used during the offense and pay $22,419.44 in restitution. Peterson pleaded guilty on May 23.

According to court documents, between 2017 and 2018, through the social media application Facebook, Peterson enticed and coerced a 16-year-old victim to produce sexually explicit images and videos of herself. In 2020, through the social media application Discord, Peterson traded images and videos of children, including toddlers and babies, being sexually abused.

This case was investigated by the FBI.