A 24-year-old Gainesville man was arrested earlier this week after multiple images depicting child pornography were found on his electronic devices.
The Gainesville Police Department stated in a social media post that an investigation was launched after officers received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. According to the tip, a cloud storage service provider determined that child sexual abuse material had been uploaded and stored by a user on their platform.
During the investigation, which was led by GPD Detective Montague, it was revealed that the images were uploaded from a residence and account related to Matthew Johnson.
On Wednesday, July 26, the GPD Internet Crimes Against Children Division and SWAT team served a search warrant at a home located in the 3100 block of SW 42nd Place in Gainesville. Johnson was located at the residence, and he claimed during a post-Miranda interview that he “often consumes alcohol to the point that he doesn’t remember what he’s done for periods of time,” according to the police department.
Investigators asked Johnson if it would have been normal for him to view and/or download child sexual abuse material while intoxicated. According to GPD, Johnson responded by stating that he “was not sure” and that he “could not remember.”
Johnson eventually admitted during the interview that he had viewed and saved the images depicting child pornography. He stated that he was 17 or 18 years old when he came across those images on the dark web. Since then, he admitted that he “periodically looked at the illegal content,” according to GPD.
Electronic devices belonging to Johnson were confiscated from the residence, and a search of those devices revealed the child sexual abuse material that was referenced in the cyber tip.
On Tuesday, August 1, Johnson was arrested and transported to Alachua County Jail. He is being charged with nine counts of possession of child pornography and one count of unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
The Gainesville Police Department stated on its Facebook page that its officers want parents to be aware that children are being solicited and exploited through social networking and messaging apps.
“We encourage parents to have age-appropriate conversations with their children about the dangers of the internet,” stated GPD. “Please be vigilant and aware of any social networking platforms your children may access.”
Parents can find resources on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website.