TALLAHASSEE – LAWFUEL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced the
arrest of a Duval County man on multiple charges of producing child
pornography. Acting on a tip from the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI), investigators with the Attorney General’s Child Predator CyberCrime
Unit discovered James Walker McSpadden’s production of homemade
pornographic images of a nine-year old child.
The investigation was initiated when the Naval Criminal Investigative
Services examined a computer previously owned by a rental company. Hundreds
of images of child pornography were found in the memory of the computer,
many of them appearing to be recently made images of a young girl. The
rental company’s records identified McSpadden, 29, as the previous renter.
During the course of their investigation, authorities determined that the
girl in the images was a nine-year old child often left in McSpadden’s
care. He was arrested today by officers with the Child Predator CyberCrime
Unit and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
“The horror that victims of child pornography endure is unspeakable
and unending. Child pornography memorializes a vile act of sexual abuse
against an innocent child,” McCollum said. “Putting child pornographers out
of commission and keeping our children safe from these monsters is one of
my highest priorities.”
McSpadden was already in custody at the Duval County Jail on
unrelated charges and will be held on $500,000 bond for the child
pornography charges. He is charged with three counts of producing child
pornography, a second-degree felony. If convicted on all charges, he could
face up to 45 years in prison. The case will be jointly prosecuted by the
Attorney General’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office for the 4th
Judicial Circuit.
The Child Predator CyberCrime Unit’s mission is to protect children
from computer-facilitated sexual exploitation. The unit does this by
working cooperatively on a statewide basis with law enforcement agencies
and prosecutors to provide resources and expertise, while preventing the
spread of these crimes through education and community awareness.
McSpadden’s arrest is the 34th made by officers with the unit since its
inception in October 2005. The Child Predator CyberCrime Unit is a member
of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) of North Florida.
