GAINESVILLE, Fla.—A Gainesville man was arrested and charged with multiple counts of child pornography possession and distribution following an investigation by the Gainesville Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit.
On Thursday, August 21, the GPD ICAC Unit, with assistance from GPD SWAT, executed a search warrant at 2800 SW 35th PL, Apt 2203. The investigation was initiated after the department received a cyber-tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) concerning a Discord user who was uploading and distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
According to Detective Montague of the Gainesville Police Department, the investigation identified Shalom Barnes, 19, as the likely account holder. Through legal channels, Detective Montague found that the account was part of several Discord channels where users were discussing and exchanging CSAM. The account holder also offered to share CSAM with another user on a different app.
During an interview, Barnes allegedly confirmed that the account in question belonged to him. He admitted to being in a Discord channel dedicated to sharing CSAM and said he had seen similar material on the internet as recently as two months ago.
All of Barnes’ electronic devices were seized for a complete forensic analysis. Based on evidence found in his Discord account, he was arrested and charged with five counts of Possession of Child Pornography and five counts of Distribution of Child Pornography.
The Gainesville Police Department is urging parents to be aware of the dangers children face on social networking and messaging apps. The department encourages parents to have conversations with their children about internet safety and to be vigilant about the platforms their children access.
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