A former Army lieutenant colonel from Cooper City, Florida, has admitted to charges of possessing child pornography, accepting the dark truth of his actions before a federal court. Edgar Ali Cerda, age 49, entered his guilty plea on December 20 in the Fort Lauderdale district court, as disclosed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
Investigations into Cerda's conduct began when law enforcement officers, acting under a search warrant, raided his residence on March 10, 2021, and found upon examination of his electronic devices, distressing content that featured the exploitation of children some of whom were under 12 years old, one victim heartbreakingly as young as four, and it didn’t take long for Cerda, who was at home during the search, to be arrested on the spot.
The sentencing for Cerda is slated for February 28, 2024, where he potentially faces up to 20 years behind bars and could be subject to a lifetime of supervised release, explained in a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith will preside over the hearing.
The case, part of the nationwide effort known as Project Safe Childhood, which debuted back in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to crack down on the intensifying problem of child sexual exploitation and abuse, was handled by the FBI's Miami Field Office and the Broward Sheriff's Office with aid from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Fort Lauderdale Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations, Miami, and the weight of U.S. Assistant Attorney Ajay J. Alexander’s expertise on prosecution.
Project Safe Childhood aims to synergize federal, state, and local efforts to better locate and bring to justice those who exploit children through the internet and also focuses on identifying and rescuing victims; more details on this pivotal initiative are accessible at their website.
