Sadistic abuse and bondage: Registered Florida child predator busted again, justice finally served
Florida – A Florida man who had already been convicted of se* crimes against children has been sentenced to more than ten years in federal prison after admitting that he used the internet to access and view child se*ual abuse materials, DOJ reported.
M. Baumgardner, 50, was given a 10-year and 10-month sentence in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger. The court also gave Baumgardner a lifetime period of supervised release and told him to pay $10,000 in reparations to the young victim. The sentencing comes after a federal investigation found photos of child se*ual abuse on his phone and posted them to an online messaging service.
At the time of the federal crime, Baumgardner was already on the list of child s*x offenders. In 2017, he was found guilty of state counts that included having photos of a child having se*, going to meet a youngster for unlawful activity, and using a two-way communication device in an illegal way. He was on probation for being a state s*x offender when the actions that led to the federal case occurred.
The investigation started after police got a call from a corporation that controls a social messaging program, according to court filings. The company told the police that files with child se*ual assault content had been uploaded using the app between May 6 and June 5, 2024. Investigators found the uploads came from a home in Jacksonville and found an account linked to Baumgardner.
As the investigation went on, officials found that Baumgardner had broken the terms of his state probation. Because of that violation, a warrant for his arrest was issued in April 2025. A detective from the Sheriff’s Office called Baumgardner on the same day and took his phone as part of the investigation.
Baumgardner admitted that the email address and phone number connected to the uploads were his during the meeting. He also said that he has used the chat app before. Court records show that Baumgardner also acknowledged to accessing the internet to look at and access images of kids being se*ually molested. He told the police that he didn’t know the children in the photos directly.
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A later forensic investigation of Baumgardner’s phone gave additional evidence that the charges were accurate. The tablet had 67 pictures of child se*ual abuse material on it, according to investigators. The material had pictures of young children and showed behaviors that were described in court documents as sadistic se*ual abuse and bondage.
On July 28, 2025, Baumgardner was taken into custody for the federal crime. He later admitted guilt on September 10, 2025, ending the matter without a trial. The guilty plea admitted that he used the internet to find and view the illegal content, and it also said that he was responsible for the photos that were found during the investigation.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation worked together to look into the matter. The government was represented in court by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
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The sentence takes into account both the crime’s severity and Baumgardner’s criminal record, which includes his previous conviction and the fact that he committed the federal crime while he was on probation. Baumgardner will be under severe supervision for the rest of his life, even if and when he is released from federal detention.
