TPD seeing increased number of child pornography arrests

TPD shares details of two recent child porn busts

FOX 13's Aaron Mesmer explains the warning from Tampa police after two recent child porn arrests as officers say they are receiving a growing number of tips every day about other potential cases.

What we know:

TAMPA - The Tampa Police Department arrested Jose Guerrero, Jr. last week, charging him with 100 counts of Possession of Child Pornography.

Investigators said the arrest of Guerrero, 26, followed an intensive investigation stemming from a cyber-tip report.

The investigation began on February 20, when Tampa police received a cyber-tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the possession and distribution of suspected child pornography.

"The report indicated a consistent pattern of activity between November 2024 and January 2025," officers wrote in a news release.

Detectives with the department's Internet Crimes Against Children unit, which is also called the Cyber Crime Squad, arrested Guerrero on May 28.

A day later, in an unrelated case, Tampa police arrested Jesse Sharrer, 21, and charged him with two counts of child pornography possession.

A pair of recent child pornography arrests by the Tampa Police Department has officers highlighting the work their Cyber Crimes squad is doing.

"I think the advent of different technologies, both on the detection side, but also then on the offender side, different encrypted messaging apps or different ways to store things, I think has led to offenders maybe getting a little more brazen," Sgt. Greg Van Heyst told FOX 13. "There's a child somewhere in the world that has been victimized and, unfortunately, in this possession and trading and distribution is just re-victimized over and over again."

Big picture view:

Sgt. Van Heyst said his unit receives cyber tips at an alarmingly high rate. Detectives are investigating hundreds of cases daily, with some involving suspects in other states and other countries.

According to Van Heyst, some of the tips will come directly from social media apps reporting illicit content to law enforcement.

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"We kind of start with, it occurred in the Tampa area and we may get a username or something like that," he said. "Obviously then we start with legal processes, subpoenas, search warrants, and old-fashioned police work."

A pair of recent child pornography arrests by the Tampa Police Department has officers highlighting the work their Cyber Crimes squad is doing.

"[Child victimization] knows no geographic boundaries. It's in our backyards, it's in all of our neighborhoods, it's everywhere in the world," Van Heyst said, adding it's also getting much harder for suspects to hide. "The technology is becoming so advanced, law enforcement is going to find out, and we're determined to, also."

The sergeant told FOX 13 the images can come from as far away as other counties or even as close as the Tampa Bay area.

"The images and videos that are being shared could be someone, a child down the street that's self-produced, and then that gets circulated. It could be somebody victimized another country," he said.

What you can do:

Police are urging parents to talk with their children about these dangers and to keep a close eye on what they're doing on their cell phones and other electronic devices.

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The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Aaron Mesmer.

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