After a lengthy investigation, Citrus County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) deputies on Thursday arrested 41-year-old Anthony Green of Crystal River on 11 counts of possession of child pornography.
Based on information received during the course of the investigation, a search warrant was executed on an “electronic device” owned by Green.
As a result of the search warrant, Detective Barry of the CCSO High Tech Crimes Unit was able to identify images depicting child pornography that had been downloaded and saved on the device.
“The harm that is inflicted by exploiting children in this manner is devastating. We will continue to aggressively pursue and arrest those responsible for these types of vulgar crimes,” Sheriff Mike Prendergast said. “Our youths are our prime concern, and CCSO detectives will relentlessly work to remove dangers such as Green from our community.”
Also on Thursday, Detective Barry and Detective Ricci of the CCSO’s Special Victim’s Unit interviewed Green. During the interview, Green confirmed he was the sole owner of the electronic device. In addition, he is said to have admitted to officials of using the electronic device to search the internet for, download, and view images of child pornography.
Based on his admission and the evidence collected from the electronic device, Green was placed under arrest and turned over to the Citrus County Jail, with a total bond set at $55,000.00.
As the CCSO continues this investigation into the discovery of digital evidence, the CCSO said, additional charges for Green may arise. The agency will also continue to work with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in an attempt to identify any victims depicted in the images possessed by Green.
If you are a victim or know of a victim that could be related to this case, call 352-726-1121 to make a report.