Cottondale Man Sentenced for Child Pornography Offenses

Tallahassee, Florida - Mark David Swearingen, 32, of Cottondale, Florida, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to possession with intent to view child pornography and transportation of child pornography. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: "My office has an unwavering commitment to pursue maximum justice on behalf of the innocent victims depicted in child sexual abuse material, and we will continue to hold sexual predators like this defendant accountable for accessing those horrific images and videos. I appreciate the excellent investigative work by our state and federal law enforcement partners that supported this successful prosecution and enabled us to bring this defendant to justice."

Court documents reflect that the defendant came under investigation in 2025 when law enforcement received information indicating he had been using the internet to access child pornography. Law enforcement sought a search warrant and discovered the defendant possessed several electronic devices that contained hundreds of images of minors being sexually abused by adults.

After serving his term of seven years' imprisonment, Swearingen will have to register as a sexual offender. He was also ordered to pay $36,000 in restitution to the victims.

"The threats children face from online predators is greater than ever, with every image and video of child sexual abuse material represents the abuse of an innocent victim, and we will continue to hold offenders accountable for seeking out and accessing that horrific material," said Homeland Security Investigations Tampa acting Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Ingegno. "HSI and our state, local, and federal law enforcement partners remain resolute in identifying and apprehending predators who use the internet to sexually exploit and victimize children. Through aggressive investigation and prosecution, we will work to ensure these individuals are kept behind bars, off the internet, and away from our children."

The case involved a joint investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement with assistance from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eric Welch.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

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 FloridaLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. website. For more information about the United States Attorney's Office, Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.