ST. CLOUD, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida man known as “Santa” and his son have been accused of sexually abusing children in their neighborhood and creating child pornography after authorities raided their home Tuesday morning.
NBC affiliate WESH said the St. Cloud home was raided as part of a Homeland Security child pornography investigation.
Neighbors said at about 10 a.m., they “saw up to 30 law enforcement officers” from multiple agencies swarm that home that sits just east of Canoe Creek Road.
According to WESH, neighbors reported seeing a body being removed from the home. The Orange County Medical Examiner later confirmed that they had responded to a “death call” at the home.
Federal court records showed that the raid was targeted at 79-year-old James Cox and his eldest son, Henry Cox after authorities received a cyber-tip about child pornography being uploaded from the family’s home.
St. Cloud police said they searched the home in January and found “several hard drives with images and videos of children being sexually abused and exploited,” WESH reported.
Detectives also discovered videos that appeared to have been secretly recorded, showing young children using the restroom and changing clothes. According to WESH, at least two of the victims appeared to be children who lived in the same neighborhood as Cox.
The criminal complaint against James Cox alleged that his son produced some of the pornography, while the 79-year-old uploaded it.
“You just don’t think it’s going to be so close to your house, and having four girls myself, it’s a little unsettling,” Emily Jenkins, who lives nearby, told WESH. “I think it confirms that we can’t be restful and let our kids play outside. It’s always play in the backyard now. It’s not like it used to be.”
James Cox is currently being held in the Seminole County Jail, while St. Cloud police said Henry Cox was found dead from an apparent self-inflected gunshot wound Tuesday.
