Ringling College Student Faces Child Porn Charges: Police

SARASOTA, FL — A 22-year-old Ringling College of Art + Design student was arrested Thursday for sending and possessing child pornography images, Sarasota police said in a news release.

Alex Boyd, who lives in the Ringling College dorms on Old Bradenton Road in Sarasota, faces charges of transmission of child pornography by an electronic device and possession of child pornography. Additional charges are possible, police said.

Sarasota detectives received a tip through the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about a suspected child pornography case Dec. 31. The internet service provider Stelivo reported to NCMEC that one of its users had uploaded five pornographic images of children to its social media program, the police report said.

When detectives investigated the tip, they determined the files were transmitted from the dorms at Ringling College, and executed a search warrant on Boyd’s room Thursday, police said.

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Boyd was arrested Thursday, booked into Sarasota County Jail, and released on a $60,000 bond.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Sarasota police at 941-263-6067 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers by calling 941-366-TIPS (8477) or online at www.sarasotacrimestoppers.com.