Fort Myers, FL – Rodney Alan Hortman, a 59-year-old resident of Okeechobee, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for possessing and accessing child sexual abuse materials with intent to view. U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell also imposed a life term of supervised release and mandated that Hortman register as a sex offender. Hortman had entered a guilty plea earlier this year on January 22.
The investigation began in December 2022 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a cyber tip from an electronic service provider. The tip indicated that Hortman had uploaded files depicting child sexual abuse material from his cellphone.
On June 6, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Hortman’s residence, seizing his cellphones and a computer tower. During questioning, Hortman admitted that child sexual abuse material would be found on his electronic devices. A forensic examination confirmed the presence of such material.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Myers Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, with assistance from the Glades County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Assistant United States Attorney Yolande G. Viacava prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006. The program aims to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse by coordinating federal, state, and local resources to apprehend and prosecute offenders and rescue victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
