TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Florida, Northern), published as received.

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Franklin Jefferson Mathes, Jr., 59, of Carrabelle, Florida, has been sentenced to 84 months in federal prison for receiving material constituting child pornography. The sentence was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

“The safety and well-being of our children is paramount,” stated U.S. Attorney Coody. “Those who seek to view and maintain child pornography facilitate the abuse of children by those who produce and profit from this illegal content, robbing our children of their innocence and their very childhood. With our law enforcement partners, we will hold such offenders accountable.”

Between September 2018, and July 2022, Mathes received, and possessed material containing child pornography. The pornographic material found in Mathes’ possession involved minors under the age of 12.

“This sentencing demonstrates the commitment of the FBI to investigate cases of child pornography and work with our U.S. Attorney’s Office partners to hold them accountable,” said Sherri E. Onks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division. “We will stop at nothing to protect children from those who engage in this type of activity, and we have now ensured one less predator is victimizing the most innocent and vulnerable members of our community.”

Mathes’ prison sentence will be followed by 20 years of supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender and will be subject to all sex offender conditions.

This conviction was the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Meredith L. Steer.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.