This article was updated on September 19, 2019, at 8:01 p.m. View those updates here.
The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), On July 7, 2019, received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in regards to a male who had been downloading child pornography.
After an extensive investigation, 40-year-old Joshua J. Faciane was arrested for 50 counts of possession of child pornography.
“The most heinous crime is where criminals prey on innocent children,” said Sheriff Prendergast. “Detectives in cases such as these have to view and analyze the images and videos of young children being exploited; it’s upsetting. We appreciate our High Tech Crimes Unit detectives’ commitment in identifying potential victims and arresting the people that commit these repulsive crimes.”
The tip was sent to NCMEC by Faciane’s internet service provider stating that there were numerous images of child pornography associated with one of their subscribers.
Sergeant Stephen Conley and Detectives Tiffany Barry and Chris Cornell were able to confirm that the images were, in fact, child pornography.
The cyber tip was assigned to our High Tech Crimes Unit to investigate.
Once the CCSO established probable cause, a search warrant was executed at the suspect’s residence, located at 5554 South Barco Terrace, Inverness, on July 12, 2019. Detectives seized numerous digital media and storage devices for further examination.
Upon further investigation, pictures of a young female, fully clothed, were discovered. Due to the content and location of these pictures, detectives became concerned for her safety. Immediately working to identify and potentially remove the young female from a dangerous situation, detectives interviewed her at Jessie’s Place (a children’s advocacy center) in Lecanto.
During the interview, she did not disclose any information that made detectives believe she was a victim of any physical or sexual abuse. She is now at a safe location and protected from any potential harm.
During the forensic examination of the devices seized during the search warrant, Detective Cornell was able to clearly identify approximately 3,000 pictures and multi-media files depicting child pornography.
The CCSO then worked with the State Attorney’s Office to obtain an arrest warrant for Faciane.
On Wednesday, Faciane was arrested at Ocala Regional Hospital and transported to the Marion County Jail, where his bond was set at $100,000.00 per the warrant. CCSO’s Special Victims Unit detectives and members of the United States Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force were on scene with the Ocala Police Department during the arrest.
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