Florida Man, 72, Busted With Piles Of Child Abuse Pictures Weighing More Than A Tonne

A 72-year-old man in Florida has been busted with nearly a quarter of a million printed child pornography images that police said weighed over 1,180 kilogrammes.

Paul Stephen Zittel, 72, poses in undated photo. He was taken into custody and charged with 25 counts obscene material — possession of 10 or more child porn images, in Ocala, Florida, USA, on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. (Marion County Sheriff’s Office/Newsflash)

The suspect has been named as Paul Stephen Zittel of Ocala, a city in central Florida, USA, and he was arrested after the authorities received information indicating that multiple files showing child sexual abuse had been uploaded to the Internet from the suspect’s IP address.

They then conducted a raid on the home after having obtained a search warrant and found over 220,000 printed images weighing over 2,600 lbs (1,180 kilogrammes).

Newsflash obtained a statement from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in the US state of Florida dated Monday, 27th February, saying: “On Thursday, February 23, 2023, Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Major Crimes Detective Chase King arrested Paul Zittel (W/M, DOB: 04/22/1950) for 25 counts of Possession of Child Pornography.

“During the month of January, Detective King received information that multiple files depicting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) had been uploaded to the internet. Further investigation determined that the files were uploaded from IP addresses assigned to Zittel. A search warrant was then obtained for Zittel’s residence, located at 4210 SE 46th Street, in Ocala.”

Picture shows more than 220,000 printed child porn images in Zittel’s possession, which together weighed approximately 2,600 pounds, undated. Paul Stephen Zittel, 72, was taken into custody and charged with 25 counts obscene material — possession of 10 or more child porn images, in Ocala, Florida, USA, on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. (Marion County Sheriff’s Office/Newsflash)

The police added: “On Thursday, February 23, 2023, the search warrant was executed at Zittel’s home. Contact was made with other residents at the home, who stated Zittel would not allow others into his bedroom or office without personally escorting them. During the search, detectives located countless printed photographs of pornography, many of which depicted CSAM.

“The prints had been arranged into large stacks and boxes throughout Zittel’s bedroom and office, and a printer on his desk displayed obvious signs of heavy use. Detectives seized the printed materials, a computer, and a digital storage device and removed them from the home.

“Zittel was arrested and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he remains held on a USD 250,000 bond.

“Detectives estimated there to be more than 220,000 printed images in Zittel’s possession, which together weighed approximately 2,600 pounds.”

The investigation is ongoing.

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