Valrico Man Arrested on Child Pornography Charges
| FBI Tampa February 28, 2011 |
VALRICO, FL—On Wednesday, February 23, 2011, the Innocent Images Task Force (IITF), which consists of investigators from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Largo Police Department, and the FBI, arrested Joshua Craig Abel, age 28, without incident. The arrest occurred at Abel’s residence, 1009 Classic Drive, Valrico, Florida.
The premise of this arrest was based on activities involving the sexual exploitation of minors, specifically that Abel was utilizing a peer-to-peer file sharing program to collect images of post-pubescent boys.
According to the federal complaint, Abel transported, distributed, and possessed child pornography online.
On February 23, 2011, a federal search warrant was executed at Abel’s residence, where approximately 20 terabytes of related data was seized.
The IITF is requesting anyone with information about this matter, including information regarding potential victims, contact the FBI Tampa Field Office at 813/253-1000.
The charges in the federal complaint are merely allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until proven guilty.