PANAMA CITY MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO RECEIPT OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA - Chad Ryan Puffinbarger, 39, of Panama City, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court to receipt of child pornography. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: "I am proud of the excellent investigative work by our state and federal law enforcement partners to investigate this matter to help bring this sick individual to justice. My office is committed to protecting our children from sexual exploitation and victimization, and will continue to aggressively prosecute offenders like this defendant to hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law."

Court documents reflect that the defendant came under investigation in 2021 when it was suspected he had been using a peer-to-peer network to download child pornography from the internet. Law enforcement sought a search warrant for the defendant's residence, and he admitted to viewing child pornography. Examination of his electronic devices resulted in locating more than 3,000 images of minors being sexually abused by adults.

Puffinbarger faces up to twenty years' imprisonment, and lifetime supervision upon release.

The case involved a joint investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations and Florida Department of Law Enforcement with assistance from the Office of the State Attorney for the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Meredith L. Steer.

Sentencing is scheduled for December 10, 2025, at 2:00 pm at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee before United States District Judge Mark E. Walker.

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 and led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it 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 https://www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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, Northern District of Florida, visit https://http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.