SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Sarasota man who was caught after employees at a “UBREAKIFIX” repair store found photos of nude children on his phone was convicted on Wednesday, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
Richard Paul Sundstrom brought his phone to the repair store in February 2020. As employees worked on his phone, they discovered the nude photos and notified the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office.
When Sundstrom went to pick up his phone, detectives took him to the sheriff’s office to be interviewed, where he admitted to being attracted to girls 14 and older.
During their investigation, detectives found several images of underage nude girls and used “graphic sexual terms” when searching for photos online.
Sundstrom told authorities he would regularly attend sporting events at Riverview High School in Sarasota and was friends with multiple female athletes. He admitted to saving photos from the girls’ social media accounts and went as far as to label a photo of a nude woman as a “doppelganger,” referencing a look-alike student at the school.
Officials said Sundstrom had no children who attended the high school.
On Jan. 31, Sundstrom was sentenced to 16.25 years in prison, followed by five years of sex offender probation.
“This case serves as a stark reminder to parents to always be vigilant for those who wish to prey
upon the children of our community,” Assistant State Attorney S. Ethan Dunn said. “Thanks to the thorough investigation of the detectives at the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, the Defendant is being held accountable for his crimes. This sentence protects the children of this community and serves as a valuable reminder that those who prey upon children will find no safe haven in our community – this behavior will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent the law allows.”