PASCO COUNTY, Fla. – A New Port Richey man faces nearly a century in state prison following his arrest this week during a state law enforcement sweep targeting online predators.
Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that 36-year-old Joseph Dearborn was taken into custody and charged with 15 counts of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM) and one count of Promotion of a Sexual Performance by a Child.
The investigation began on January 16, 2026, when the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) flagged Dearborn’s IP address during an undercover internet operation. Investigators tracking illicit activity on a Peer-to-Peer network using eDonkey software tied the network traffic back to Dearborn’s location.
READ: Louisiana Man Charged In Undercover Florida Sting After Baiting ‘Kids’ Online
Months of digital tracking culminated on May 13, 2026, when FDLE agents executed a search warrant at Dearborn’s New Port Richey home. Authorities seized multiple electronic devices at the scene, including a desktop computer, and arrested Dearborn without incident.
A subsequent forensic extraction of the seized desktop computer revealed more than 1,000 CSAM files downloaded to the device.
“If it has not already been made abundantly clear, Florida is the wrong place to be a predator,” Attorney General Uthmeier said in a statement following the arrest. “I will stop at nothing to protect our kids. I am grateful for the prosecutors and law enforcement officers who got this criminal off the streets.”
Dearborn now faces a maximum sentence of up to 90 years in the Florida Department of Corrections if he is convicted on all counts. Special Counsel Rita Peters will handle the prosecution in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida.
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