A 62-year-old Ocala man was arrested last week after multiple files depicting child pornography were found on a hard drive inside his home.
On Thursday, May 11, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office detective was conducting an online investigation for individuals who were sharing files depicting child sexual abuse material. During that investigation, an IP address in Marion County was located that was sharing a large number of files over the internet, according to MCSO.
The detective successfully downloaded over 260 files from the suspicious IP address and determined that some of those files contained child pornography. The sheriff’s office stated that an investigation into the IP address was conducted, and the detective determined that it belonged to Frederick Francher Bell Huffman.
A search warrant was obtained for Huffman’s residence located in the 5500 block of SE 30th Court in Ocala, and deputies searched the home on Thursday, May 25. A Toshiba hard drive belonging to Huffman was recovered, and digital forensic technicians discovered multiple files on it that depicted child pornography, according to MCSO.
After being read his Miranda rights, Huffman initially denied viewing any child pornography. He claimed that he used a “pirate download service” to download movies and adult pornography. During a secondary interview, the MCSO report stated that Huffman was confronted with the detective’s findings, and he admitted that he was “guilty.”
During the post-Miranda interview, Huffman told investigators that he attempted to “delete the material” after downloading it, and he believed that the hard drive no longer contained child pornography. He stated that he has viewed child pornography “for years,” and he further admitted that he pleasured himself while watching the material “multiple times on a weekly basis,” according to the MCSO report.
Huffman was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held on $100,000 bond. He is being charged with 20 felony counts of possession of child pornography, and a court date has been scheduled at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, June 27, according to jail records.
In a social media post, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office stated that it is possible that Huffman may have victimized a child. Anyone who believes that they were victimized by Huffman are encouraged to contact Detective Sutliff at 352-368-3546.