PORT ST. LUCIE – A 32-year-old Port St. Lucie man was arrested on 21 counts of possession of child pornography on Aug. 12, following an investigation by Port St. Lucie Police that began in June.
David Joseph Fernandez of the 3000 block of Southeast Dalhart Rd., Port St. Lucie, is in the St. Lucie County Jail on a $105,000 bond for those charges, according to the jail website.
Detectives began tracking Fernandez in June through an online investigation of a network that alerts law enforcement when child pornography is being downloaded, according to the arrest affidavit.
Detectives found a number of files related to child pornography linked to an IP address associated with someone in the Fernandez family.
Using a subpoena to further determine the address, detectives tracked the location as the 3000 block of Southeast Dalhart Road, Port St. Lucie, according to the affidavit.
Detectives then spoke with a woman who lives there with her husband and two sons, both of whom work from the house as IT technicians, according to the arrest affidavit.
Investigators also spoke with a Leon County Sheriff’s Office detective who said she was getting downloads from the same IP address.
With a search warrant, officers spoke to David Fernandez at his home. He told investigators that he downloaded pornography but did not know that any of it was child pornography except for one file which he deleted, according to the arrest affidavit.
Officers monitoring David Fernandez’s home computer reported finding one video which allegedly contained a video of underage girls in inappropriate behavior.
David Fernandez was subsequently booked into the St. Lucie County Jail without incident.
More charges may be forthcoming as investigators continue their examination of his computer and other electronic devices, according to the arrest affidavit.