LEESBURG — A Leesburg man was arrested on Wednesday after undercover detectives discovered multiple files containing child pornography on his home computer according to an arrest report.
The arrest stemmed from an undercover investigation that began on November 14 in the Central Florida area.
During the investigation, undercover agents discovered multiple files being shared on a peer-to-peer program used for file sharing that was named with keywords commonly associated with child pornography.
After obtaining a warrant for the IP address the files were being transmitted from, agents were led to the residence of 73-year-old Stanley Harry Smith.
Agents obtained a search warrant for the residence located on Lakeview Drive in Leesburg and executed the search on December 6th.
During the search, several files were found on Smith’s home computer that contained images and video of boys and girls under the age of 18 engaging in lewd or sexual activity.
Most of the children in the footage were believed to be under the age of 10.
When questioned, Smith reportedly admitted that he has been downloading and viewing child pornography for approximately one year, stating “I got caught up in it and I can’t explain it.”
Smith was arrested and charged with five counts of computer child pornography.
He was transported to the Lake County Jail where he remains in lieu of a $24,000 bond.
Smith is scheduled to appear before a judge on January 2 at 8:30 a.m. at the Lake County Courthouse.
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