Bradenton man faces life in prison after child sexual abuse conviction, prosecutors say
A federal jury found a Bradenton man guilty of four charges linked to child sexual abuse.
According to a news release, 40-year-old Roger Lee Caldwell was found guilty of producing child sexual abuse material, two counts of transporting minors with intent to engage in sexual activity and possession of child sexual abuse material.
Caldwell faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison at his sentencing hearing scheduled for May 15. He was indicted on May 17, 2023.
Testimony and evidence at the trial showed Caldwell sexually abused two victims for about five years, beginning when they were 8 years old. According to a news release, Caldwell had an image on his cellphone of one victim, when she was 9 years old and forced to engage in a sex act.
That image showed Caldwell wearing a uniquely designed belt, the same belt he wore at the time of his arrest, prosecutors said in the news release.
The victims disclosed the sexual abuse to law enforcement in March 2022 after Caldwell traveled alone with them and sexually abused them multiple times, the news release said.
One of the victims kept a pair of underwear she wore from the last sexual assault encounter during the road trip, and DNA analysis confirmed the presence of Caldwell’s semen, prosecutors said.
A collection of sexual abuse material was also found on a computer seized during a search of Caldwell’s home, the news release said.
The FBI, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Bradenton Police Department, Palmetto Police Department and Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated the case, while assistant United States attorneys Stacie Harris, Courtney Derry and Abigail King prosecuted it.
