CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — A Clearwater man was arrested Tuesday on 15 charges, all involving criminal sexual activity. Court records show he possessed images and videos of individuals engaging in sex with animals.
Previously, Saul Mejay-Pedraza was busted in a human trafficking and child sex bust in August.
According to a regional human trafficking task force in Tampa Bay, Mejay-Pedraza was one of eight defendants charged for Human Trafficking, commercial sex activity, and unlawful use of a two-way communications device on Aug. 14, following an investigation into adults using the internet to solicit child prostitutes for sexual activity.
The affidavit said the materials were found on the phone seized from Mejay-Pedraza’s during his arrest on Aug. 14 for human trafficking. The cell phone was retained as evidence, according to the affidavit. After obtaining a warrant for the files on his cell phone, law enforcement officers found the pornographic materials.
Affidavits from Dec. 13 state that he “did knowingly film, distribute, or possess” pornographic images or videos of “a person and an animal engaged in sexual contact.”
Videos described in the affidavits for Mejay-Pedraza’s arrest described three animal-related materials in detail, with detectives noting there were “numerous additional videos of bestiality involving dogs, pigs, and horses” on the phone. In addition to the bestiality videos, multiple files on the phone contained sexual material with child victims as young as 5 years old, both male and female.
As a result of the materials found on Mejay-Pedraza’s cell phone, he was charged with 12 counts of possession of child pornography and three counts of sexual activity with animals. In total, the 15 counts were assessed for a bond of $75,000. He is currently awaiting trial, according to records from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
