A Port Charlotte man, Ashton Michael Bogard, 37, has been arrested and charged with possession of child pornography following an investigation that began with a report from the instant messaging service “Kik.”
On December 21st, 2024, Kik reported potential child pornography files on their servers. Simultaneously, Tampa Police Department detectives were investigating Bogard for an unrelated incident where he engaged in an undercover chat, believing he was communicating with an underage girl and expressing interest in meeting for sexual activity.
On March 24th, 2025, a search warrant was served for the content associated with Bogard’s Kik username. The return of the warrant on April 11, 2025, revealed numerous selfies of Bogard, including his face and tattoos, confirming his ownership of the account. Within the files were approximately 27 videos containing child pornography.
Sheriff Bill Prummell of Charlotte County stated, “Few things in this world disgust me as much as people who take pleasure in seeing children being harmed… When we learn it exists in Charlotte County, I want our community to know that we take action. It is not welcome here, nor should it be anywhere.”
On April 24th, 2025, sufficient probable cause led to the issuance of an arrest warrant for Bogard. He was located and arrested later that day for possession of child pornography and taken to the Charlotte County Jail. While he has since bonded out of Charlotte County Jail, he was immediately re-arrested on charges from the Tampa Police Department and is now being held without bond.
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