Gainesville man arrested for possession of child pornography

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla – Thomas Duval Andrews, 63, was arrested yesterday and charged with 11 counts of possession of child pornography and one count of solicitation of child exploitation material.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a tip on November 2, 2021, about an anonymous Flingster user (who didn’t have an account) soliciting child abuse material. The upload IP address led to an address in Gainesville, and a subpoena led to the identification of Andrews as the subscriber owning the internet service at that address. An investigation by Gainesville Police Department (GPD) determined that Andrews lived alone at the address.

On Tuesday, October 11, the Gainesville Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Division, with the assistance of GPD SWAT, served a search warrant at the address. When officers asked Andrews if he would speak with them about the case, he reportedly said that he didn’t wish to speak with them but doesn’t look at “kiddie porn.”

Several electronic devices were seized from his home, and forensic analysis of the seized devices yielded at least 49 unique child sexual abuse images.

The Gainesville Police Department wants parents to be aware that children are being solicited and exploited through social networking and messaging apps. These apps, like Facebook, KiK, Snapchat, TikTok, and Tagged are also used to share images and videos that depict young children being sexually abused. Please be vigilant and aware of any social networking platforms your children may access.

If you have any questions about this incident, please contact GPD Detective Donna Montague at 352-393-7730 or montagueda@cityofgainesville.org. Parents can also find resources at the NCMEC website: https://www.missingkids.org/HOME

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.