Tallahassee, Florida – John Massimiani, III, 46, of Southport, Florida, has been indicted in federal court on one count of transportation of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography, and one count of destruction of property to prevent its search and seizure. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced the charges.
Massimiani appeared for his arraignment in federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Martin A. Fitzpatrick in Tallahassee, Florida. Jury trial is scheduled for July 20, 2026, at 8:30 am, before District Judge Mark E. Walker in Tallahassee, Florida.
If convicted, Massimiani faces a minimum of 5 years’ imprisonment, and up to 20 years’ imprisonment, on the transportation of child pornography count. Massimiani also faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment on the possession of child pornography count, and up to 5 years’ imprisonment for the destruction of property count.
The case is being jointly investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bay County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Meredith L. Steer.
An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
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 .
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl .
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Northern District of Florida — U.S. Department of Justice press release.