September 16, 2008
Media Contact: Sandi Copes
Phone: (850) 245-0150
CyberCrime Unit Arrests Seminole County Man for Possession of Child Pornography
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that his CyberCrime Unit has arrested a Seminole County man on charges of child pornography possession. Dewey Ernest Cruse Jr. was arrested today by law enforcement officers with the Attorney General’s CyberCrime Unit and the Longwood Police Department.
Investigators discovered Cruse’s possession of child pornography during an undercover internet investigation that identified a known image of child pornography and traced the files back to Cruse’s computer. A search warrant was executed at Cruse’s Longwood home and his computer was seized, along with additional computer equipment. Cruse, 39, admitted to knowingly possessing the image identified during the undercover investigation. The image is part of a known child pornography series composed of images of a nine-year old girl.
The computer and other equipment seized will undergo additional forensic analysis to determine whether any additional images of child pornography are present. Cruse was booked into the Seminole County Jail. He will be charged with one count of possession of child pornography, a third-degree felony which carries a maximum prison sentence of five years. Additional charges could also be added at a later date. A copy of Cruse's booking photograph will be available from the Seminole County Jail when the booking process has been completed.
The CyberCrime Unit's mission is to protect children from computer-facilitated sexual exploitation. The unit does this by working cooperatively on a statewide basis with law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to provide resources and expertise, while preventing the spread of these crimes through education and community awareness. The CyberCrime Unit is a member of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) of Central Florida.