Two North Florida men have been arrested and charged with possessing and transmitting child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
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The Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced that retired corrections officers Benjamin Gerard Smith, 57, Live Oak, and Donald Howard, 57, Starke, were taken into custody.
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An investigation began when FDLE agents received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that child sexual abuse photos were being shared electronically. Smith and Howard were identified as the two suspects.
On Tuesday, June 18, warrants were served separately in Suwannee and Bradford counties. The Bradford County Sheriff’s Office is assisting in serving Howard’s arrest warrant. Electronic devices containing multiple files of sexually abused children were seized from both homes.
Smith was arrested and booked into the Suwanee County Jail and Howard was arrested and booked into the Bradford County Jail.
FDLE said that after retiring as a corrections officer, Smith was fired from his job at an elementary school after allegations of inappropriate contact with children were reported.
Surveys are being conducted by the FDLE Live Oak and Gainesville field offices.
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