Former surgeon arrested on child pornography charges

Press release from Alachua Police Department

ALACHUA, Fla. – On May 11, 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) processed a tip from Synchronoss Technologies, Inc., a company used for Verizon’s cloud-based storage for customers using Verizon Wireless service, notifying them of a photograph of child pornography being possessed by a customer on 03/30/2023.

A detective from the Alachua Police Department assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force confirmed that the tip received from NCMEC was child pornography. The Verizon customer was identified as 71-year-old David Stephen Saunders, a resident of the City of Alachua.

A search warrant was executed on Saunders’ account, which revealed Saunders to be in possession of the child pornography photograph. A further look into Saunders’ accounts revealed several child pornography images being stored.

A search warrant was executed at Saunders’ residence, and several electronic devices were seized, including Saunders’ phone, which was used to upload the child pornography images.

A digital forensics examiner from the Gainesville Police Department examined all data extracted from the seized devices. The examiner stated that the findings indicated the defendant sought out child pornography through an online web browser, saved or bookmarked the webpage with the content, and continued to access the page. These findings were, in fact, saved on the device controlled and possessed by the defendant.

An arrest warrant for Saunders was granted. Saunders was arrested yesterday and booked into the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office Department of the Jail on the following charges:

F.S. 827.071(5) – The defendant will be charged with a total of 19 counts of possession of child pornography as a result of possessing 18 artifact files within his personally used cell phone and the single file in his cloud-based storage that led to this investigation.

F.S. 847.0137 – The defendant will also be charged with transmission of child pornography by electronic device or equipment.

F.S. 934.215 – Misuse of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony.

  • Alaucha county has a major child sex trafficking ring and some of the most adorned people in public are the biggest offenders

  • Even the most respectful and professional people could have a fatal flaw. Shocking 👿🤡😡

  • This man, needs to find Jesus, and stay on his knees in prayer and repentance. He needs to be locked away, so he cannot harm anyone, especially children

  • He has a hollow eyes that’s the story he has no conscious about anyone’s feelings he’s a surgeon for God sake

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