A federal district judge in Fort Pierce has sentenced Robert Francis Gilbert, a Georgia inmate, to an additional 19.5 years in federal prison for child exploitation crimes. Gilbert was already serving a life sentence for rape at Rutledge State Prison in Columbus, Georgia.
In the summer of 2023, Gilbert communicated online with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl. He used threats to solicit pornographic videos and planned a sexual encounter upon his release from state prison. Law enforcement discovered his actions and informed the state prison warden. Investigations found Gilbert had a cell phone containing evidence of these crimes.
Gilbert pleaded guilty to attempted enticement of a minor and attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor before United States District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg on August 23, 2023. The sentence was announced by United States Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida, Acting Special Agent in Charge Jose Figueroa of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Division, and Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek.
The case was investigated by HSI Fort Pierce and the Martin County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Hoover.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Court documents related to this case can be accessed at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 24-cr-14002.