Sheriff Ivey Warns Parents About Apps Like Discord and Telegram After Child Exploitation Arrests
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – There is nothing more disturbing for me than seeing the various sick and disgusting arrests made by our Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit.
The actions of those this unit investigates are sickening, and the only way it gets worse is when we make two arrests in three days for possession of material depicting sexual conduct with a child!
The incredible team at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Persons (NCMEC) fields all of these cyber tips and gets them to our agency to investigate.
Recently, Agent Megan DeVoss received one of the tips and quickly went to work, identifying Allen Tonkin as a person of interest. After completing numerous subpoenas and conducting surveillance, Agents subsequently obtained and executed a search warrant at Tonkin’s residence.
During an interview after the execution of the search warrant, Agents asked him about the tips, and Tonkin acted very nonchalant, seeming to try to brush them off by saying he had seen some illegal things on the Discord app but had gotten off of it.
Agents then inquired as to if Tonkin had any images or videos saved on any of his devices, to which he, of course, said “he’s pretty sure there wouldn’t be anything.”
Well, as you might have guessed, that didn’t go well for him, as Crime Scene Investigator Conrad Schneider found a USB drive in a safe that contained over 400 videos and images of child sexual abuse material!
As a result, Tonkin took the ride to Ivey’s Iron Bar Lodge, where he was held on a “No Bond” status for 10 counts of Possession of Material Depicting Sexual Conduct With a Child.
Now, if that wasn’t bad enough, the next arrest by our ICAC Unit was by Agent Michael Melione after receiving cyber tips from Kik about child sexual abuse material, which quickly identified the suspect as Harry Larson-Postell.
A search warrant for his residence was obtained and executed, and a cell phone was located that revealed Larson-Postell had over 400 videos of child sexual abuse material, some of which he was sharing on the Telegram app.
Folks, I can’t even begin to describe these images or videos to you, as no one should have to see this, let alone even read about it.
Larson-Postel’s videos and images contained children, toddlers and infants! His actions disgust me, and I am certain that there is a special place in hell for those who harm an innocent child.
Parents, check your kids’ phones, Telegram, Discord, Kik, and so many other apps appear to be ok, but they have a dark side that puts our most precious citizens in danger.
I couldn’t be prouder of our Agents, Digital Forensics Unit, and Crime Scene Investigators for all they do with these cases, as no one should have to see this repeatedly!
To say our community is safer because of these arrests is an understatement, as our ICAC Agents and team are true heroes to our citizens.
– Sheriff Wayne Ivey
