Florida man caught with over a million child sexual abuse files sentenced to prison

A 54-year-old Central Florida man has been sentenced to over 15 years in federal prison after admitting to having more than a million child sexual abuse files across 50 electronic devices.

Edward Nicholas Carney of Kissimmee is set to spend 15 years and 8 months behind bars, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. He had pleaded guilty in June to receiving and possessing the illicit material.

According to court documents, Carney shared hundreds of depictions of child sexual abuse material using a social media platform. When FBI agents executed a search warrant at his home, Carney had screen savers displaying child sexual abuse on his computers. Upon his arrest, prosecutors say, Carney asked a law enforcement officer: “You’ve never had any curiosity about something? Just to look and see?”

As of the date of Carney’s sentencing hearing, more than 2 terabytes of child sexual abuse material — involving minors under 12-years-old — have been located in his electronic devices, which included a cellphone, computers, SD cards, USB drives and external hard drives.

“This investigation is yet another example of the dedication and determination of the FBI and its law enforcement partners in unmasking child predators and keeping our children safe,” FBI Tampa Division Special Agent in Charge David Walker said Monday in a news release.

“The detectives at the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office who dedicate hundreds of hours investigating monsters like Edward N. Carney are the true heroes. The partnerships we develop with organizations like the FBI is a great way of demonstrating to the community that we can do remarkable things together as one”, said Osceola Sheriff Marcos Lopez.

Carney pleaded guilty in June to one count of possession of child pornography and two counts of receipt of child pornography, court records show. He was sentenced Sept. 14.