FBI agents raided the home of a prominent Florida attorney that has been dedicated to helping victims of sexual crimes. The lawyer was caught actively downloading child pornography and had nearly 2,000 sexually explicit photos and videos of young children, according to federal officials.
FBI agents executed a search warrant on the West Palm Beach home of Michael T. Dolce on March 15. Agents forcefully entered Dolce’s home after he did not respond to law enforcement.
“Entry into the residence occurred as a result of a forceful breach on the door when Dolce did not respond to commands by law enforcement to come to the door,” the complaint stated, according to Law & Crime. “Tactical surveillance and entry teams revealed that Dolce was alone in the residence, awake on a bed at the time FBI personnel first knocked and announced at his door. Located directly adjacent to Dolce on the bed was a Samsung laptop.”
FBI agents found the 53-year-old attorney “actively downloading child pornography using peer-2-peer software,” the Southern District of Florida U.S. Attorney’s Office announced in a press release.
Investigators discovered nearly 2,000 images and videos of child porn on his laptop, according to the arrest affidavit.
“FBI digital forensic examiners and filter teams conducted a review of the Samsung,” the complaint read. “As of 3/24/23, FBI personnel had identified one-thousand nine-hundred ninety-seven images and five videos of child pornography based upon known hash values for previously identified child pornography.”
“Prosecutors say Dolce used a BitTorrent network, which are built for peer-to-peer file sharing, to anonymously download pornography depicting children between 5 and 11 years old in sexually explicit positions,” the Palm Beach Post reported.
Dolce was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Dolce was a partner at the Palm Beach Gardens law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll – where he was “the leader of the firm’s Sexual Abuse, Sex Trafficking, and Domestic Abuse team,” according to his archived profile on the firm’s website. Dolce has been scrubbed from the firm’s website.
A spokesperson for Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll said that the firm was “stunned and saddened” by the accusations against Dolce. The spokesperson confirmed that Dolce had been “terminated and is no longer affiliated with the firm.”
“We are focused on attending to the needs of our clients and staff and continuing to cooperate fully with the investigation,” the firm stated.
Dolce had been on the board of directors of the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence since 2011. He had also been on the Florida Bar’s Legal Needs of Children Committee.
Dolce’s LinkedIn profile states, “A highly regarded trial lawyer and political activist, Mr. Dolce’s practice is dedicated to representing survivors of sexual crimes, including child and adult victims, and adult survivors of child sexual abuse.”
The profile also notes, “Mr. Dolce brings to his work the insight and commitment of a survivor, having himself been the victim of sexual abuse as a young boy at the hands of a sadistic predator.”
The profile continues, “His expertise and accomplishments in sex crime victim rights is nationally recognized.”
“He also appears as an expert in the award-winning documentary film, ‘Pursuit of Truth: Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Seeking Justice,'” the LinkedIn profile reads.
Dolce’s arraignment is scheduled for mid-April.
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