NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — A 71-year-old Lakeland man was arrested Tuesday in Volusia County on a warrant charging him with two counts of possession of child pornography.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office says Donald Eugene McClendon, Jr. caught the attention of detectives who had received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Investigators say they learned McClendon was pretending to be someone named "Teresa" and was having "explicit sexual conversations" with a boy.
Authorities say they later found flash drives McClendon owned. Those drives, investigators say, had two images of kids – at least one of whom was only 5 – being sexually abused.
Polk deputies say they coordinated with local police to arrest McClendon, who was visiting a relative this week in New Smyrna Beach. After his arrest, authorities say McClendon told them he had been pretending to be a teen girl online and used a photo of a girl as his profile image.
"McClendon also admitted the flash drives that contained the child pornography images belonged to him," the Polk County Sheriff's Office wrote in a news release.
Deputies say his electronic devices were seized. If more child porn images are discovered, investigators say he'll face additional charges.
“I am grateful for the hard work of my detectives and organizations like NCMEC who vow to protect our children from sexual exploitation and abuse," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd wrote in a statement. "This investigation is still ongoing – more charges related to the felony possession and distribution of images and videos of children being sexually battered are possible after we do a complete forensic analysis on his devices.”
McClendon was booked into the Volusia Count Jail, where he was being held without bond Wednesday. He will eventually be transported back to Polk County.