Martin County Registered Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Production of Child Pornography

DOJ Press

Miami, Florida – A 47-year-old man has pled guilty in federal district court in Fort Pierce to production of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and committing a felony offense involving a minor while being required to register as a sex offender.

According to court records, Gernard Clark first came to the attention of law enforcement after a minor reported to a school resource officer that Clark had sexually battered her.  Law enforcement investigated and discovered on the SD card of Clark’s cellular telephone more than 500 sexually explicit images and more than 40 sexually explicit videos of the minor female taken when she was between 14 and 15 years old.  Clark was previously convicted of Lewd and Lascivious Indecent Act with a Child Under 16 Years of Age in the 19th Judicial Circuit of the State of Florida, Martin County and, as a result, was required to register as a sex offender.

U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg will sentence Clark on January 20, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.  Clark faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 35 years and a total maximum sentence of 130 years, a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine per count.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami Field Office, announced the guilty plea.


FBI Miami, in particular, FBI Miami’s Child Exploitation Task Force, investigated this case, with the assistance of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey Bergstrom is prosecuting the case. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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 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 the Project Safe Childhood initiative and for information regarding Internet safety, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-14015.

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