MARION COUNTY, Fla. — An Ocala man arrested for possession of material depicting child sexual abuse may have also victimized a child himself, deputies say.
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
62-year-old Frederick Huffman was arrested by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office’s Major Crimes Unit Thursday on 20 counts of possession of child pornography.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Major Crimes Detective Nicholas Sutliff discovered a Marion County IP address that was linked to a “large number” of files depicting child sexual abuse material online.
READ: Deputies investigating possible murder-suicide in The Villages
Sutliff downloaded hundreds of files from the address, some of which were found to contain child pornography.
A search of Huffman’s Ocala home yielded a hard drive belonging to him that contained material showing the sexual abuse of children, according to the sheriff’s office.
READ: New Mexico man charged in cold case: ‘I needed to confess’
Deputies say Huffman initially denied viewing child pornography, but when confronted with the contents of the hard drive, he admitted that he was “guilty” of viewing child pornography multiple times a week over a number of years.
Huffman was booked into the Orange County jail Thursday where he remains on a total of $100.000 bond.
READ: Police: Baby dies after being left in car while parents attended church
Based on their investigation, deputies say they believe Huffman may have victimized a child himself. They’re asking anyone who thinks they may be a victim of Huffman’s or knows someone else who might be to contact Detective Sutliff at (352) 368-3546.
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.