JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A man who called himself an “elite-ranked pedophile” faces a hefty federal prison sentence.
Frederick Karl Hildenbrand, 56, of Cocoa, was found guilty of nine counts of producing child sexual abuse material and two counts of possessing child sexual abuse material.
Evidence presented during the trial revealed that Hildenbrand lived in Ohio from at least 2004 through 2014. While in Ohio, he produced numerous tapes and electronic files that showed him sexually abusing children, including toddlers and infants.
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After relocating to northeast Florida with his wife, Hildenbrand brought these materials with him. In 2018, he rented a storage unit and placed a safe containing child sexual abuse material inside it.
The material came to light in May 2024 when Hildenbrand’s storage unit was auctioned after his payments stopped being processed.
The buyer of the unit’s contents opened the safe and found several pairs of children’s undergarments, each labeled with names and individually packaged in plastic baggies. The safe also contained tapes and electronic devices.
The buyer turned the items over to the Baker County Sheriff’s Office.
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In July 2024, Hildenbrand contacted the storage company after realizing his unit had been auctioned. During multiple recorded phone calls, Hildenbrand communicated with an undercover detective from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, wanting to retrieve the items from his safe.
Hildenbrand drove three hours from Cocoa to Clay County on August 5, 2024, intending to reclaim his safe, but was instead arrested by law enforcement.
On the same day as his arrest, detectives searched Hildenbrand’s home and found additional electronic devices containing child sexual abuse material. Searches of these devices showed that Hildenbrand had continued to film himself sexually abusing children through at least June 2024.
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In total, Hildenbrand possessed at least 10,000 depictions of children being sexually abused. One of his computers contained two versions of a “poem” written by Hildenbrand that detailed his desire for children, in which he described himself as “an elite-ranked pedophile” for more than 30 years.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, the Cocoa Police Department, the Baker County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Hildenbrand’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 22, 2026. He faces up to 30 years in federal prison for each production count. He also faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment for each possession count. The maximum penalty for the possession charges was enhanced after the jury determined that the material depicted young children.
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