Hillsborough County Man Sentenced To Federal Prison For Receiving And Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Darnell Credit (51, Tampa) to six years and six months in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material. The court also ordered Credit to pay $21,000 in restitution and forfeit a computer, two thumb drives, and an external hard drive, which were used to commit the offenses. Credit entered a guilty plea on February 15, 2024.

According to court documents, in November 2021, the FBI executed a search warrant at Credit’s home and seized several of his electronic devices. A forensic search of those devices revealed more than 1,000 photos and over 100 videos of child sexual abuse material, including images depicting sadistic conduct, toddlers, and bestiality.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Tampa Police Department and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Abigail K. King and Ross Roberts.

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.