Child Porn Charges Filed Against 18-Year-Old From Sarasota

SARASOTA, FL — An 18-year-old Sarasota man was charged with possession and transmission of child pornography Wednesday, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Rashad Smith also faces charges of sexual battery of a child stemming from a December arrest for molesting a 4-year-old, deputies said.

Detectives received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in late February after 10 images depicting child pornography were uploaded to the image hosting website Flickr. Investigators used the IP address used to upload the images to identify Smith as the suspect, the sheriff’s office said.

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On Wednesday, detectives executed a search warrant at Smith’s home, where they found several electronic devices for further processing.

He was taken into custody that day and charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography and a single county of transmission of child pornography, the sheriff’s office said. He remains in custody without bond while the investigation continues.