TALLAHASSEE – Attorney General Charlie Crist announced the arrest today of a Volusia County man on multiple charges of possession of child pornography and promoting the sexual performance of a child. Investigators with the Attorney General’s CyberCrime Unit discovered Timothy Salan’s distribution and promotion of pornographic videos of children during an undercover online investigation.
Salan, 27, placed pornographic videos on the internet, where they were discovered by a CyberCrime investigator who was able to trace them back to Salan. A search warrant was then executed at Salan’s Daytona Beach residence, and officers seized computers and numerous images of child pornography. Salan was arrested by officers with Crist’s CyberCrime Unit and the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team and Sex Crimes Unit.
“The internet can be a source of useful information, but unfortunately it is also used to spread images of horrible child abuse,”
said Crist. “We are committed to finding sleaze merchants and stopping them from further exploiting the victims of such unconscionable acts.”
“A great deal of investigation on the local and state level went into today’s successful operation,” said Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson.
“The Attorney General’s Office should be commended for teaming up with local law enforcement to identify and track down offenders who exploit children. Today’s arrest should serve as notice that this type of activity won’t be tolerated in our community.”
Law enforcement officers executing the search warrant verified that Salan’s computers contained the movies found online by the undercover investigator. Salan admitted that he knowingly possessed the pornography found on his computers and on storage discs. The computers and other equipment removed from the residence will undergo further forensic analysis to locate possible additional pornographic images or movies of children.
Salan is currently being held at the Volusia County Jail. He is charged with promoting the sexual performance of a child, a second-degree felony; one count of possession with the intent to promote the sexual performance of a child, a second-degree felony, and five counts of possession of computer pornography, a third-degree felony. If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 50 years in prison.
Salan’s arrest is the tenth made by officers with the CyberCrime Unit since it was created last November 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. The unit is a member of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in North Florida.
