The recent arrest of Florida Gators quarterback Jalen Kitna has brought national spotlight to the issue of child pornography, which plagues America now more than ever. But while Kitna’s case might seem isolated and unique, child porn arrests are actually quite frequent in Florida and not talked about enough.
For example, on November 28, a former Hillsborough County elementary school custodian was sentenced to eight years in prison for possessing 2,452 images and 1,595 videos of child sex abuse material. On November 2, a Florida man was arrested by the FBI for advertising child pornography after he facilitated the creation of a website explicitly created for this purpose.
Child porn crimes are also committed by college students. On December 2, a student at the University of West Florida was charged with 30 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material. And last year, two Florida State University students were arrested in an undercover FBI child porn investigation. One of the students lived in Bryan Hall and sent explicit videos from the dorm’s common area.
To track the student’s online movement, FBI agents used a tool called Splunk, which is capable of logging activity every time a student accesses the internet on campus. However, this tool was only used after the investigation started. Florida State University spokesperson Amy Farnum-Patronis said that the university “does not actively monitor any individual users or track their activities on campus networks via Splunk Enterprise software or any other software.”
It’s worth noting that in the early 2000s, as iPods became more widely used, Florida universities cracked down on illegal music downloading. The University of Florida used a program called Icarus that uncovered illegal downloading and restricted a student’s internet access if this activity was detected. Perhaps a similar method to monitor the access of pornographic websites on university Wi-Fi should be considered.
All this being said, it’s clear that the issue of child pornography is something college students should care about. Here are some basic facts to know.
The Correct Definitions
According to Florida Statutes Chapter 827, Abuse of Children:
“Child pornography” means any image depicting a minor engaged in sexual conduct or any image that has been created, altered, adapted, or modified by electronic, mechanical, or other means to portray an identifiable minor engaged in sexual conduct.
“Minor” means any person under the age of 18 years.
“Intentionally view” means to view deliberately, purposefully, and voluntarily.
“Sexual performance” means any performance or part thereof which includes sexual conduct by a child.
Repercussions
Possessing child porn is illegal in Florida and is a third degree felony, as stated in Florida Statutes 847. In our state, there are no mandated sentences for most third-degree felony charges. However, the maximum sentence for a third-degree felony includes up to five years in state prison and/or up to five years of probation, and court fines up to $5,000.
Distributing child porn is a second-degree felony, which could result in up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Current Statistics
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reviews reports of suspected child abuse material. In 2021, NCMEC received 29.3 million reports of child pornography nationwide, an increase of 35% since 2020.
In 2021, there were 5,966 child pornography reports in central Florida alone.
Social media platforms are hotspots for pornographic materials. Facebook flagged 77 million files in 2021 that contained “child nudity and sexual exploitation.”
How You Can Report Suspicious Material
Contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: CyberTipline.org
Stopping the exploitation of innocent children is something we can all unite behind.
