INVERNESS, Fla. — A Florida man was arrested at a hospital Wednesday on 50 counts of possession of child pornography.
Investigators were tipped off in July by an internet services company about one of its subscribers, 40-year-old Joshua Faciane, who was associated with several images of child porn, according to the Citrus County Sheriff's Office.
A search warrant was executed days later at Faciane's home on South Barco Terrace, where deputies say investigators seized numerous digital media storage devices.
However, one group of pictures stood out: Pictures of a young girl who was fully clothed. Detectives grew concerned for her safety because of the content and the location of the pictures, the news release states.
The girl was identified and interviewed at Jessie's Place, a children's advocacy center, in Lecanto, Florida, and investigators believed she was not in any danger.
A more through examination of Faciane's devices revealed about 3,000 files of child porn, the sheriff's office said. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and he was taken into custody Wednesday at Ocala Regional Hospital and transported to jail on 50 counts of child porn.
"The most heinous crime is where criminals prey on innocent children," said Sheriff Mike Prendergast said in the news release. "Detectives in cases such as these have to view and analyze the images and videos of young children being exploited; it's upsetting.
"We appreciate our High Tech Crimes Unit detectives' commitment in identifying potential victims and arresting the people that commit these repulsive crimes."
Faciane is being held on a $100,000 bond. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the sheriff's office at 352-726-1121.
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