On March 5, a former Army lieutenant colonel was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography, after pleading guilty in December 2023.
Edgar Ali Cerda, 49, of Cooper City, will also serve 15 years of supervised release after his prison sentence ends.
Cerda offered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith in Fort Lauderdale federal court.
According to court documents, on March 10, 2021, law enforcement officers executed a residential search warrant at Cerda’s home in Cooper City. An examination of Cerda’s electronic devices revealed multiple images and videos depicting sexual exploitation of children under 12 years of age, with one victim as young as two years old.
Evidence also revealed that the ex-army lieutenant colonel shared images within a group chat. Law enforcement officers arrested Cerda, who was home at the time.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of FBI, Miami Field Office, and Sheriff Gregory Tony of the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith.
FBI Miami and BSO investigated the case with assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Fort Lauderdale Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Ajay J. Alexander 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.
