A Villager was arrested Tuesday afternoon after law enforcement officials reported finding files on his laptop computer that appear to be child pornography.
Joseph Leo Becker, 66, was taken into custody by Sumter County deputies and charged with 24 counts of possessing obscene material. He was transported to the Sumter County Detention shortly after 4 pm. after being taken from his home at 4299 Deskin Ln. in the Village of Osceola Hills at Lake Deaton.
According to a Sumter County Sheriff’s Office report, an undercover internet investigation was conducted March 2 in the Central Florida area on computers that were offering to distribute child pornography. One of the computers identified was located at Becker’s address, so the sheriff’s office obtained a search warrant to investigate.
Becker told deputies that he lives at the house with his wife and has a secure internet connection. He provided passwords to his wireless network, computers and cell phone and said that he is the only one who uses his computer.
Becker told deputies he uses a file-sharing program called Shareaza on his Toshiba laptop and that he has told his wife not to go onto that account, the report says. He said he uses the file-sharing program to look up music. But he added that sometimes while searching for music, “bad stuff will pop up,” which he described as pornography, the report says.
Becker said that he tries to delete those pornographic videos when they pop up. And he added that he doesn’t know what it means but usually when he sees the letters PTHC (pre-teen hardcore) on his computer screen, “it has bad things.” Becker also said that “kiddie porn is not his cup of tea,” the report says.
Deputies copied 24 files from Becker’s laptop that appeared to be child pornography, which gave them probable cause to arrest Becker, the report says.
In a second interview, Becker admitted that he used his laptop to search for pornography. When asked why he would click on tabs containing the letters PTHC on them if “bad stuff” would pop up, Becker said that didn’t happen all the time. He added that he “was not going to incriminate himself.”
Becker is being held on $120,000 bond, which amounts to $5,000 for each count. The charges are classified as second-degree felonies, which according to Florida Statutes can result in a prison term of up to 15 years and a fine of not more than $10,000 per count.
Also Tuesday, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office revealed that it had been taking part in a month-long child pornography sting. Sheriff Grady Judd said that 11 people were arrested and 660 charges were filed. Those taken into custody include a Walt Disney World employee, a 16-year-old high school student, a retired teacher and a Boy Scouts volunteer.