CRESTVIEW, Fla. – A federal jury found a man from Crestview guilty of child pornography offenses.
Harold Lavern Benedict, 73, a registered sex offender, was found guilty of receiving and possessing images of child pornography. The guilty verdict returned Wednesday afternoon, at the conclusion of a three-day trial in Pensacola, was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
“Protecting innocent children from sexual predators remains one of our highest priorities,” said Coody.
“I commend our law enforcement partners and prosecutors who work tirelessly to identify these predators and bring them to justice so that they may never exploit a child again. Due to their collective efforts, our community is safer, and this repeat offender is exactly where he belongs – back behind bars.”
According to court documents and evidence presented during the trial, on June 27, 2022, a father was at Yellow River Park with his children in Milligan, Florida, and purchased gasoline for a stranded senior citizen. The older man requested the father’s address and phone number to send him money for the gas.
When the father declined the money, the older man—who claimed to restore computers for a living—offered the father a laptop for his kids.
When the father got home and checked the computer before giving it to his kids, he said he found that it had child pornography on it. He immediately contacted the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO).
Through the investigation, law enforcement reportedly linked a phone number provided by the older man to Harold Lavern Benedict, a local registered sex offender, due to prior convictions for Attempted Sexual Battery on a Child Under 12 and Lewd and Lascivious Act.
OCSO Investigators interviewed Benedict on September 2, 2022, and said he admitted to using foreign internet web browsers to obtain child pornography at least once per month.
Law enforcement obtained search warrants for several of Benedict’s electronic devices and determined that Benedict possessed over 700 images of child pornography, prosecutors said. Benedict was reportedly engaged in such conduct from at least 2019 through 2023.
“This is an unusual case where all the pieces fell into place to expose the ongoing and disturbing criminal conduct of this individual,” said Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden.
“Once again, due to the dedication and expertise of our investigators and federal partners with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, another child pornography consumer will be taken off our streets.”
Sentencing is scheduled for November 15, 2023, at 2 p.m., at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola before United States District Judge T Kent Wetherell, II. Based on his prior child sex offense conviction, Benedict faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years in federal prison, with a maximum of 40 years imprisonment.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and the US Department of Homeland Security conducted an investigation that led to this conviction. Jennifer Callahan, an assistant US attorney, handled the prosecution.
