LAKE COUNTY, FLA. – Police in Tavares have arrested a 16-year-old and charged him with possessing 25 disturbing child pornography images, including bestiality. It’s becoming an ugly trend among juveniles.
“Juveniles know how to go to the dark web,” said Detective Courtney Sullivan.
Police received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and a network of service providers and agencies that monitor emails.
The images are difficult to look at, said Sullivan.
Seemingly unusual for a juvenile user, too, but Sullivan said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is seeing more and more cases. Many of the images recovered from the boy’s electronic devices have been shared by offenders for a long time, she said.
Some of the images involve girls younger than 3. Others A few involve adult women and animals.
When confronted by police in his bedroom, the boy said he was “coming out of a porn addiction.” At first, he claimed his devices, including an Android phone, had been “hacked.”
He also said, “I’m coming out, starting to fill my life with Christ.” He also stated: “I’ve been doing good these last two years.”
However, the CyberTip submitted by the Center for Children said they detected the material sent to another user on Feb. 3.