News Releases

Registered sex offender arrested on child pornography charges

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A registered sex offender was arrested Wednesday in Leon County, Fla., on child pornography charges following an investigation by the North Florida Internet Crimes (ICAC) Against Children Task Force, led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the Leon County Sheriff's Office (LCSO).

Jason Tew, 37, of Leon County, was charged with 20 counts of possession of images depicting child sexual performance.

"Through partnerships with state, local and other federal law enforcement agencies, ICE will continue to vigorously investigate child exploitation cases like this one," said Susan McCormick, special agent in charge of ICE's Office of Homeland Security Investigations in Tampa.

The investigation started when Tew was discovered accessing an unsecured wireless network in the area of his home address. During the investigation, members of the ICAC Task Force discovered that Tew was using his computer to download, possess and share photographs and videos depicting children in sexually explicit poses.

Task force members recovered computer equipment, child pornographic images and videos during a search warrant that was served at Tew's residence earlier this month.

Sexual offenders are asked routine questions during address verifications pertaining to their Internet activities. During a recent sexual offender address verification, Tew indicated that he did own a personal computer and did have an active email account, which is registered with FDLE.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.