Boca Raton Man Sentenced to 50 Years’ Imprisonment for Production, Distribution and Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material

 Miami, Florida – A Boca Raton man convicted of producing, distributing, and possessing sexual abuse material of children, including a toddler, was sentenced yesterday by a West Palm Beach federal district judge to 50 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release.  He also was ordered to pay $1.3 million in restitution to his victims. 

Robert Solove, 29, used social networking applications on his cellular telephone to communicate with children and to solicit and distribute child sexual abuse material.  Solove created illegal photos and videos of an 18-month-old child in his care and shared them in chat rooms using his smartphone’s social networking application and with individuals. Solove also developed an online relationship with a 13-year-old girl in a different state. He directed the 13-year-old to take pornographic photographs and videos of herself and send them to Solove through a second smartphone application.  In addition, Solove acquired sexual abuse material of other children from several internet platforms and stored them on his cellular telephone.  In connection with this matter, officers rescued an 18-month-old girl. 

Solove pled guilty to producing, distributing, and possessing child pornography during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks on March 4, 2021.

Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida, and Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, announced the sentence.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), West Palm Beach investigated the case with assistance from the HSI Chattanooga and HSI Detroit field offices, PBSO, and the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office.  Victim services were provided by the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller prosecuted the case.

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 the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.