Lost Cell Phone Contained Video Of Sex Offenses Against Minor

A cell phone found at a Florida Wal-Mart that contained photos and videos of various sex acts being performed on a minor lead to the arrest of a 33-year-old man and 37-year-old woman on related sex offenses. Police were able to track the phone number to Jennifer A. Sparks and an email address on the phone to Alan Robert Johnson.

The phone also directed authorities to Johnson’s Facebook page. Johnson is a registered sex offender. As we’ve previously discussed on this blog, North Carolina specifically prohibits registered sex offenders from using social networking sites like Facebook.

The couple who found the phone alerted police to the pornographic images contained on the phone; police then obtained a search warrant to review the phone’s contents and confirmed the existence of pornographic photos and video.

A search of the couple’s home followed. Police found additional evidence that Johnson and Sparks had recorded molesting a 4-year-old girl. They are both being held without bond at the county jail.

The 4-year-old girl’s parents are also under investigation. Authorities are unsure if the parents were aware of the sex offenses being committed against their daughter and, if they were, whether they were complicit in or accepted payment for the abuse.

The 4-year-old had stayed with Johnson and Sparks for six weeks before she moved to another home in Lakeland. Police believe she may have been subjected to similar treatment at the Lakeland home. She has been removed from the home and is in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Source: Wink News, “Child porn found on cell phone leads to arrest,” June 28, 2012