Sarasota Man Charged With Child Porn Possession Threw Cell Phone Into Pond: Sheriff

SARASOTA, FL — A 33-year-old Sarasota man was charged with 40 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material and a single count of transmission of child sexual abuse material, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Detectives began their investigation into Joshua Bright in December, when they received several tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about more than 30 videos and images depicting child pornography uploaded to Google and Tumblr servers.

Investigators used the IP address used to upload the files to identify Bright as the suspect. When searching his Google and Tumblr accounts, they found 42 additional images and videos with victims ranging from 5 to 16 years old, the sheriff’s office said.

During an interview, Bright admitted to sending illegal images to others online and later trying to destroy his cell phone by throwing it into a pond.

He remains in custody without bond while the investigation continues.