An Ocala man, who was out on bond following his July 2025 arrest on multiple child pornography possession charges, is back behind bars after AI-generated material depicting the sexual abuse of children was allegedly found in his possession.
On Thursday, January 15, 2026, 20-year-old David Edgar Joseph Rutter was arrested and charged with four counts of possession of child pornography. He had been out on bond since mid-July of 2025 following his arrest by Ocala police on 20 counts of possessing child pornography.
According to the Ocala Police Department’s arrest report, several cyber tips from Microsoft indicated that child sexual abuse material had been uploaded using an IP address that was traced to an Ocala residence.
In June of 2025, OPD obtained and executed a search warrant for the home, which was located on SW 111th Street. Officers made contact with Rutter, who lived with his parents at the residence, and he admitted to using his desktop computer and iPhone to access the internet, according to the report.
After being read his Miranda rights, Rutter allegedly claimed that his email address had been “hacked,” and that child sexual abuse material (CSAM) had “just gotten through.” An iPhone belonging to Rutter was seized by investigators, and 20 videos containing CSAM were allegedly found on the device.
Rutter was placed under arrest and booked into Marion County Jail on June 25, 2025, and he was released on bond three weeks later.
In November of 2025, an MCSO detective began investigating a local internet user who had allegedly “participated in the distribution of 257 files of CSAM,” according to the sheriff’s office.
In a media release, MCSO stated that many of the above files “involved sadomasochistic sexual abuse of children as young as infants,” and some of the files “involved animals.” An ensuing investigation allegedly revealed that Rutter had uploaded these files.
A search warrant was obtained for Rutter’s home on Thursday, January 15, 2026, and detectives made contact with Rutter at the residence. He allegedly admitted to “accessing the dark web” and “sharing CSAM” with others online.
According to MCSO, several electronic devices belonging to Rutter were seized during the search of Rutter’s home, including one device that was hidden inside a bag of cat food. During a review of Rutter’s “primary device,” dozens of “child erotica” images and four videos of “child celebrities containing CSAM” were allegedly found, which had been created with artificial intelligence (AI).
In addition, detectives allegedly found other AI-generated videos in Rutter’s possession, which depicted “early pubescent girls,” along with numerous “printed pictures of clothed children and babies” in his bedroom.
Rutter was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail, where he remains in custody without bond. He is facing four additional child pornography possession charges, and a court date has not been scheduled yet in connection with this case.
Marion County Court records show that in the separate case regarding the 20 counts of possession of child pornography, Rutter has entered a written plea of “not guilty.” Rutter is being represented by Ocala-based Attorney Ian Matthew Pickens, and he is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. on Thursday, February 5, 2026.
Due to the nature of the alleged offenses, detectives believe that Rutter may have “live victims.” If anyone has additional information that could help investigators, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office asks that you call Detective Osthed at 352-351-4710.