FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A Flagler County man is locked up after deputies said they found child pornography in his home and uncovered a conversation in which he was attempting to purchase a child online for sex.
Joseph Blackwell, 30, was arrested Friday morning after a more than yearlong investigation.
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Deputies said the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children first received tips in October 2021 that Blackwell was in possession of child pornography.
The sheriff’s office said it then served a search warrant on his home in Daytona North on Jan. 19, 2022, seizing multiple devices from his home.
Deputies said several images and video of child pornography on the devices.
Investigators said they also found an email conversation between Blackwell and another, unidentified, man. The conversation centered around Blackwell having heard that the man was in the business of selling children for sex and that Blackwell was interested, records show.
Deputies said no actual exchange ever occurred and that there is no evidence to suggest the girl Blackwell tried to purchase was ever with the other man.
Blackwell faces 20 counts of promoting the sexual performance of a child and one count of soliciting a custodian of a child for unlawful sexual conduct.
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