Winter Park Man Booked on Enticing a Minor Charges
Recently a Winter Park man pled guilty to federal charges of distributing child pornography and enticing minors to send more images via the online messaging app Kik. The defendant faces a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison. Homeland Security agents in the Orlando area successfully followed up on a tip from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in August 2018. The Canadian authorities had passed along vital information about several Kik accounts exploiting children, including one by a user under the name of “justwaves02” who lived in Winter Park, Florida.
Traded Thousands of Child Pornography Files Online
Authorities state that at least five users had shared sexually explicit materials involving minor children that August. When Homeland Security Investigations agents went to the home of “justwaves02” the following November, the defendant claimed he didn’t have his cellphone with him. After further questioning, the suspect admitted his laptop and phone were still in the home.
Along with admissions of distributing countless files of child pornography, he had also posed as a 16-year-old boy living in South Florida and convinced at least one teen to send him additional pornographic images of herself.
Not the Defendant’s First Time
Further investigation revealed that the defendant had previous charges for child abuse in Oviedo after his abuse of a 14-year-old girl came to light. Though he faced charges of lewd and lascivious battery, his final conviction was that of willful child abuse, which was a third-degree felony. Interestingly, the court did not require him to register as a sex offender. He had just gotten released in 2017 after servicing a 3-year prison sentence for that previous case.
Florida Sex Crime Law
Often, first-time offenders without a prior criminal history can still face up to 10 years in prison with no opportunity for probation when convicted of possessing child porn images. One usually faces lifetime registration as a sex offender for this type of crime, and distributing those materials is an even more serious offense with harsher consequences.
Those who access sites with child pornographic images and materials risk the police tracking their internet protocol (IP) address. This information gives Florida law enforcement your exact location so they can obtain a warrant and seize your computer, phone, or other devices that may contain these illegal images. State crime labs will then analyze your data and recover all they can find, including those you deleted.
Florida Sex Crime Defense Attorneys
If you’re facing charges of enticing minors, had pornographic images of children on your laptop, or had your IP address traced to your residence, hiring a seasoned sex crimes attorney is vital to your defense. At The Umansky Law Firm, we know that situations occur where you may not have known the images you accessed were of minors, or that another family member in your household accessed child pornography using your computer. Our experienced legal team is here to defend you, protect your rights, and clear your name of wrongdoing.
With more than 100 years of combined experience, and as members of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, you can take heart in knowing we fight tirelessly against serious accusations like these. We understand how devastating such charges are to one’s community standing and trust, and we pursue your defense aggressively to prove your innocence. Contact our office today to receive a free case evaluation and begin your defense planning right away.