FREEPORT MAN ARRESTED ON CHILD PORN CHARGES FOLLOWING WCSO CYBER CRIMES SEARCH WARRANT
Timothy Watson, 34.WALTON COUNTY, FLA— A Freeport man faces more than a dozen felony charges for the possession and transmission of child pornography.
In February of this year, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding 34-year-old Timothy Watson transmitting Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) through multiple emails.
The case was initially assigned to the Tallahassee Police Department and then forwarded to our agency after an investigation revealed the IP address used was located in Freeport, Florida.
On March 5th, a search warrant was granted and served to Google LLC about the email accounts reported in the NCMEC tip. The search warrant revealed numerous files containing child pornography.
An extensive review of these records, requiring a considerable amount of time, provided evidence relevant to obtaining a search warrant for the suspect’s residence.
Early Wednesday, August 21st, the Cyber Crimes unit conducted a residential search warrant with the assistance of the WCSO SWAT Team at 161 Dicken’s Drive in Freeport.
During the search, numerous electronic devices were seized including Watson’s phone located in his bedroom.
After an onsite review of the device, it was determined it contained data linking it to the reported email addresses reported in the NCMEC tip. The seized electronic devices were transported to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office’s Digital Lab for forensic processing.
Watson is charged with 18 counts of possession of child pornography, 28 counts of transmitting child pornography, and the use of a two-way device in the commission of a felony.
He was transported and booked into the Walton County Jail where he awaits first appearance.