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TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that his CyberCrime Unit has arrested a 28-year old Pinellas County man on charges of child pornography possession and promotion. Karl Strasser was taken into custody this morning by law enforcement with the CyberCrime Unit and the Clearwater Police Department.
CyberCrime investigators discovered images of child pornography online during a routine investigation and traced the images back to Strasser's computer. A search warrant was executed at Strasser's Clearwater residence and investigators located hundreds of images of child pornography, including images of children appearing to be as young as infants, and some involving children in bondage. Law enforcement officers seized three computers and numerous CDs, which will undergo forensic analysis to locate any additional images.
Strasser will be booked into the Pinellas County Jail and will be charged with one count of promotion of child pornography, a second-degree felony, and 20 counts of possession of child pornography, a third-degree felony which will be enhanced to a second-degree felony under the CyberCrimes Against Children Act of 2007. The investigation and arrest was carried out by members of the Attorney General's Tampa CyberCrime Task Force. Task Force members are also members of the Central Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
