ORLANDO, Fla. — The Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced the arrest of three Central Florida men following a statewide investigation into the online sharing and possession of child sexual abuse material.
According to the FDLE, Martin Theodore Cassady, 60, of Maitland, and Jorge Nieto, 39, of Apopka, were each charged with 40 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material. Joel Orellana, 25, of Kissimmee, faces two counts.
The arrests stem from multiple tips received through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and involved assistance from local police departments.
“You have to understand the dynamic our children deal with today,” said Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins. ”Everything is technologically driven. Kids don’t have conversations with just someone across the room from them or face-to-face. They have conversations with people all over the planet.”
The FDLE investigation into Cassady began in April after cybercrime task force agents received a tip that an internet user uploaded and shared more than 1,500 images and video files depicting the sexual abuse of children. A search warrant was later executed at Cassady’s Maitland residence.
The investigation into Nieto began in July after agents received more than 50 tips involving a cloud storage account used to upload and share videos depicting child sexual abuse, FDLE said.
Authorities said the investigation into Orellana began in August after agents received a tip that files depicting child sexual abuse were uploaded through a search engine. Orellana was later identified as the user following a residential search warrant and forensic analysis.
Collins said parents should remain actively involved in their children’s online activity.
“We were just talking about it as dads,” said Collins. ”We’ve got to protect our loved ones. There is nothing more important to me than protecting my family, you protecting yours.”
The arrests were announced as the Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Conference got underway, with law enforcement agencies training to combat online exploitation.
Jay Houston of the Child Rescue Coalition explained what set him on a lifelong mission to protect children.
https://childrescuecoalition.org/
“The first rescue or the first set of handcuffs you put on a suspect who is downloading and trading this material, and what an impact it has on the community,” he said.
When asked about the message he hopes to send to those committing these crimes, Collins said, “Don’t do it. You will be held accountable.”
Houston added, “I would say to the suspects, stop, because law enforcement is coming.”
FDLE said the investigation remains active and additional charges are pending.
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