ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A 31-year-old man was arrested Thursday morning on charges of possession of child pornography and transmission of child pornography, the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office said.
Shane Shirley was booked into the county jail. His first appearance hearing will be Friday.
Recommended Videos
Internet crimes against children detectives with the Sheriff’s Office Special Victims’ Unit began an investigation on child exploitation following a cyber-tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
That investigation led to an IP address in St. Johns County that utilized an email account to distribute an image depicting the sexual abuse of a child, deputies said.
Detectives said they viewed the image, which depicts a girl who appears to be under 8 being sexually assaulted by an unknown man.
Detectives then obtained evidence that identified Shirley as the person who uploaded that image, according to the Sheriff's Office.
A search warrant was obtained by detectives and that warrant was executed Thursday morning with help from SWAT deputies.
Deputies said numerous electronic items were seized by detectives from the residence and additional charges are pending further investigation.