PORT CHARLOTTE, FL - According to an online arrest report posted on mysuncoast.com, law enforcement officers from the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, the FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement joined forces to executed a search warrant at the home of a Port Charlotte man. The agencies received a tip that the suspect was engaged in potentially illegal sex crimes.
According to the news report, tips were pouring in to the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children concerning alleged child pornography photos and videos being transferred using an online chat platform named "FreeChatNow." Law enforcement agencies began to investigate the allegations and discovered that the alleged activity was happening at one apartment located on Date Street in Port Charlotte, Florida.
The detectives obtained a search warrant and were able to make contact with the suspect at the apartment connected to the alleged crimes that were being committed. The suspect told the detectives that he did have a problem with child pornography. The detectives searched the suspect's phone and discovered the suspect had over 40 illegal videos and another 400 illegal images on the cell phone he had in his possession.
The suspect was then arrested and charged with possession of child pornography, transmission of child pornography, and violation of probation originating from the suspect's prior 2002 arrest, which also involved similar crimes against children. The suspect was then booked and processed into the Charlotte County Jail, where he is being held without bond.
In a similar arrest in Charlotte Harbor, a man has been arrested and charged with child battery, child pornography criminal charges. YourSun.com reports that a 34-year-old man from Charlotte Harbor, Florida, was charged with capital sexual battery after Charlotte County deputies uncovered child pornography in his home.
According the news report, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office's Major Crimes Unit initiated an investigation of the suspect when the department received tips concerning sexual abuse of a child. According to the Charlotte County Sheriff's report, the child was under the age of 12, and was allegedly being victimized by the suspect continuously for many years.
Charlotte County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant of the suspect's home, which is located in the 22400 block of Central Avenue. The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office deputies discovered various forms of child pornography.
The suspect was then arrested and charged with several crimes, including possession of a photograph of a sexual performance by a child, as well as sexual battery on a victim under 12 years old. The suspect is being held at the Charlotte County Jail and no bail bond was issued.