A 70-year-old Ocala man was arrested last week after hundreds of files depicting the sexual abuse of children and animals were allegedly found on a hard drive connected to his computer.
Back in March, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation after receiving a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which alleged that child sexual abuse material had been uploaded from a home located in the 8300 block of SW 41st Place Road in Ocala, according to the arrest report.
One of the home’s residents was identified in the report as John David Roorda.
On Friday, August 15, multiple MCSO deputies responded to the home and executed a search warrant. During the search, they made contact with Roorda and conducted an interview, according to the report.
After being read his Miranda rights, Roorda allegedly admitted to owning a desktop computer, cellphone, and tablet that were all “primarily used by him.” He then allegedly told deputies that, “You’ll find what you’re going to find, and an explanation isn’t going to change anything.”
The report stated that a desktop computer was located in the living room area, and it was connected to two monitors and multiple hard drives. The deputies allegedly observed numerous files on the computer that were “immediately identifiable as child sexual abuse material.”
A forensic evaluation of one of the hard drives was conducted, and multiple videos depicting the sexual abuse of young children, including toddlers, were allegedly located. The videos ranged from 11 seconds to nearly 50 minutes in length, according to the report.
Additionally, a dozen videos were allegedly found on the hard drive depicting the sexual abuse of animals, including dogs, horses, a cow, and a goat. The report mentioned that these videos were between 27 seconds and nearly 24 minutes in length.
During the residential search, law enforcement allegedly also found over 230 files of “bestiality imagery” and over 510 images depicting child pornography. An MCSO corporal further mentioned in the report that “these files were located on one of the over 20 hard drives seized from the residence.”
Roorda was placed under arrest and booked into Marion County Jail, where he is currently being held on a $320,000 bond. He is being charged with 20 counts of possessing child pornography (enhancement for quantity and content) and 12 counts of possessing material depicting sexual activities with animals.
On Tuesday, September 16, Roorda is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m., according to jail records.