SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A Sarasota man was arrested Tuesday after police found dozens of explicit pictures and videos of children and teens ranging in age from 4 to 14-years-old on his cellphone.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children first led them to 35-year-old William Anderson, who used the online messaging platform “Kik” to upload several videos of child pornography.
Investigators say the IP address used to upload the videos led them to identify Anderson as the suspect.
When officers searched his cellphone, they say they found 40 explicit images and videos with victims as young as 4-years-old. During an interview, Anderson admitted to distributing illegal images to others online, police said.
Anderson was then arrested and charged with 40 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material and a single count of transmission of child sexual abuse material by electronic device. He remains in custody on a $615,000 bond while the investigation continues.
