Attorney General James Uthmeier's office has charged three individuals with possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) following a statewide operation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The charged individuals are Travis Montgomery from Manatee County, Kevin Sheffield from Collier County, and Jason Grant Harrison from Hendry County.
Attorney General Uthmeier stated, "These arrests reflect our ongoing commitment to child protection. If you are trying to prey on kids, we are watching, and we are coming for you." He expressed gratitude to the FDLE for their partnership and assured that the Statewide Prosecutors would hold the accused individuals accountable for their crimes. Uthmeier emphasized the intent to continue working hard to protect children in Florida.
Mark Glass, FDLE Commissioner, commented, "FDLE has long led the charge in investigating child sexual abuse material and exploitation cases." He called attention to the seriousness of crimes involving child exploitation and reiterated the commitment to hold offenders accountable in Florida.
Montgomery's charges include six counts of possession of CSAM, one count of solicitation of an image involving a child, and one count of consumer product tampering. Further charges related to the possession or distribution of pornography involving bestiality are expected. Montgomery allegedly communicated with an individual from the state of Washington, who sent him images of young children.
Sheffield was found to have downloaded several torrent streams containing CSAM while an investigation on the BitTorrent network was conducted. His charges include ten counts of possession of CSAM. The FDLE investigation indicates Sheffield downloaded hundreds of images since 2022.
Harrison's charges include three counts of possession of CSAM. Investigators discovered he downloaded and subsequently deleted multiple files depicting CSAM.
Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Agnieszka Thomas is assigned to handle these cases.