A 30-year-old Florida man has been arrested on charges of having child pornography on his computer and trying to find a female child for sex.
Joseph E. Blackwell, 30, was booked at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility Friday on 20 counts of promoting the sexual performance of a child and one count of soliciting a custodian of a child for unlawful sexual conduct using a computer or device.
“This pervert wasn’t just looking at child porn online,” said Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly. “He wanted to find a little girl to victimize with his sick fantasies. Fortunately, we got a tip on this guy and our detectives took it from there. Another great job by our Cyber Crimes Unit supported by our Crime Scene Investigation, SWAT, Digital Forensics Unit, and Major Case Unit for working together to get this dirtbag behind bars where he belongs before he could hurt a child.”
On January 19, 2022, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) executed a search warrant at Blackwell’s residence in Daytona North – also known as the Mondex – in reference to the possession of child pornography.
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The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received six cyber tips on October 28, 2021, on a subject identified as Blackwell who uploaded one file of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to an online website.
The FCSO Cyber Crimes Unit (CCU), Crime Scene Investigation (CSI), SWAT, and Major Case Units (MCU) searched Blackwell’s residence and recovered several devices that contained multiple files containing CSAM were located.
Through additional investigative techniques, Detective Dennis Lashbrook discovered e-mails sent from Blackwell to another unidentified individual asking to “purchase a child for sex.”
Pictures were exchanged between Blackwell and the unidentified individual of children between the ages of 5 and 7 years old where a single female child was chosen as the possible victim.
No actual exchange occurred and there is no evidence to suggest the child in the photograph was in the custody of the unidentified individual at the time of the emails.
During questioning, Blackwell admitted that he had gone online asking for “young girls” and their pictures for a sexual purposes.
On November 4, 2022, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Blackwell and he was subsequently arrested at his home without incident. He is currently held at the Green Roof Inn on a bond of $1,050,000.
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