Gainesville man pleads guilty to federal charge of producing child pornography
Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Robert Lee Johnson, III, 39, pleaded guilty in federal court to two counts of production 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, “This defendant preyed upon and sexually exploited a minor child, but thanks to the excellent investigative work by our state and federal law enforcement partners and the aggressive prosecution by my office, he is on his way to federal prison. Keeping disgusting predators like this defendant locked away is key to keeping our kids safe.”
Original arrest
Johnson was originally arrested on September 17, 2025, after the victim came forward and reported that she was in a sexual relationship with Johnson for four years, starting when she was 14. The investigation by the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office found that the victim and Johnson engaged in sexual intercourse at his residence and at various hotels, and Johnson made videos on at least two occasions.
State charges of sexual battery of a minor, lewd and lascivious battery of a minor, and directing the sexual performance of a child were filed, along with a sworn complaint alleging 20 additional charges related to sexual battery and child pornography. He was federally indicted for six counts of production of child pornography.
For each count, Johnson faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years’ imprisonment, and up to 30 years imprisonment. Johnson will be required to register as a sex offender.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 1, 2026, at 11:30 am, at the United States Courthouse in Gainesville, Florida before Chief United States District Judge Allen C. Winsor.
The case involved a joint investigation by the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christie Utt.
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.
How about Epstein files release? Interim Attorney General Blanche is stonewalling us! Enough already. Scott, Moody and Cammack past time to speak out.
“A federal judge concluded on June 25 that Blanche had likely violated the transparency law and ordered him to release more information or explain himself; DOJ then declined to produce the unredacted documents by the deadline.
• The DOJ’s own Office of Inspector General launched an audit amid bipartisan complaints that DOJ failed to fully release files and improperly concealed some identities.
• As of this week, the law’s two lead sponsors — Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) — sent Blanche a letter ahead of his AG confirmation hearing, raising ongoing concerns about DOJ’s failure to release all unredacted documents.
Bottom line: DOJ maintains it has complied (citing victim-privacy protections built into the law), but a federal judge, DOJ’s own IG, and the law’s bipartisan sponsors all currently dispute that characterization.”
Can we stay focused on this pure evil in our community?
The disconnect of “This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse…” and the reality of protecting powerful individuals, by withholding information that congress voted to make public, is an evil we need to stand against.
The parents of this girl also need to be held accountable. How do you not know that your 14 to 18-year-old daughter was in a relationship with a grown-ass man for four years? Is that not child neglect and/or child endangerment? And don’t tell me, “You can’t keep track of what your kids are doing all the time.” That’s a really poor excuse. Parents of teenagers should know that they need the most monitoring!