Gibsonton man gets 55 years in child porn case

A Gibsonton man arrested in a sting in which he thought he was going to have sex with a 12-year-old mentally challenged girl was sentenced today to 55 years in prison.

Deputies found thousands of photographs and videos of child pornography on the computer of Carl M. Cocking, 37.

Prosecutors said it was the longest prison term ever handed down in Hillsborough County for downloading child porn.

"Every time these images are made, a child has been raped, a child has been victimized and a child has lost its innocence," Hillsborough Circuit Judge Chet A. Tharpe said in imposing sentence. "It has to be stopped."

The sentence was the maximum Tharpe could mete out under a five-page plea bargain Cocking worked out with prosecutors.

He was charged with using a computer to solicit child pornography, two counts of attempted lewd and lascivious battery, and 45 counts of possessing more than 10 images of child pornography.

Cocking faced 1,300 years under state law, but prosecutors said 55 years was the maximum sentence under state sentencing guidelines.

Prosecutors took the rare approach of showing some of the images to Tharpe before sentencing. Assistant State Attorney Rita Peters said it was the first time she had done so.

The screen was placed so only Tharpe, the lawyers and a detective could see it.

The images included the rape of a 2-year-old who cried for her mother during the attack.

"It is beyond my wildest dream that you would watch that and get sexual satisfaction," Tharpe told Cocking. "Thank God the detectives caught you before you acted out because you were going to act out."

Tharpe remained visibly upset afterward.

Cocking was caught in a sheriff's office sting in which a deputy posed as a father offering his 12-year-old daughter for sex on child porn chat rooms.

Some of the chats were also shown to Tharpe, who just shook his head when it was read back.

Cocking responded almost immediately to the sting. He drove to a Brandon apartment complex in May 2008 believing he was going to meet the girl. Instead, he was arrested.

Deputies seized his computer. It showed that he shared images with other pedophiles and that they discussed the best ways to find and grab children to molest.

Cocking's lawyers sought to lessen his sentence, saying he has been in constant outpatient therapy since being released on bail and that he didn't flee.

Peters said she took the step of showing the images to Tharpe so he could understand the degree of Cocking's depravity.

"He needed to be incarcerated," she said.