CANTONMENT, Fla. – A cybertip about files uploaded to a social media account led Florida investigators to a Cantonment home, where a 30-year-old man was arrested on 20 felony charges involving child sexual abuse material.
Michael Hall Jr. was arrested Sept. 10 after Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents executed a search warrant at his residence.
The investigation began when the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children sent investigators a cybertip reporting that an unidentified user had uploaded files containing images depicting the sexual abuse of children to a social media account.
FDLE agents traced the IP address associated with the activity to Hall’s residence, according to the agency.
During an interview conducted as agents served the search warrant, FDLE said Hall admitted downloading child sexual abuse material and sending it to another user through his social media account.
Investigators said Hall also identified some of the material recovered from the account as files he had transmitted to the other user.
Hall was charged with 11 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material, eight counts of transmission of child sexual abuse material and one count of unlawful use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony.
He was booked into the Escambia County Jail. FDLE did not provide information about his bond.
FDLE’s Special Operations Team was assisted during the search by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations and FBI.
The State Attorney’s Office for Florida’s 1st Judicial Circuit is prosecuting the case.