Gainesville man arrested on charges of possession/distribution of child exploitation videos

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

Daniel William Campbell, 44, of Gainesville, was arrested today on 12 charges of possession of a photograph depicting a sexual performance by a child and two charges of distributing a photo/movie of a sexual performance by a child.

The case began on March 2, 2021, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a tip from Kik Messenger that a user’s account contained 21 videos of child sexual abuse material that had been shared with other users via private chat. Kik also provided NCMEC with the email address connected to the account. A search warrant issued to Kik produced information from the device used to register the account (a Samsung Galaxy J7 Crown), the name on the account (“Milo Cat”), and the child exploitation videos.

A check of the upload IP address revealed that it belongs to Cox Communications and is being subleased to an unknown user in Gainesville, FL. A subpoena duces tecum issued to Cox Communications produced a name and address for the subscriber at that IP address.

A subpoena duces tecum issued to Google for the email address associated with the Kik account produced a name associated with the account: Daniel Campbell. Google also had Google Pay information for the account, with addresses in Mechanicsburg, PA, and Carlisle, PA. A search for “Daniel Campbell” in Mechanicsburg, PA, linked to Daniel W. Campbell with a birthdate of November 24, 1976. A search of DAVID found Campbell currently living in Gainesville, FL.

A search of DAVID for the address associated with the Cox account produced four names, one of whom is or was married to Daniel Campbell.

On August 5, 2021, a second tip was received by NCMEC from Kik regarding a second account, also related to child exploitation material. This tip included 43 videos and 8 images, which were shared with other users via private chat and in group chats. The IP address used to upload the material was the same as the Cox Communications IP address linked to Campbell. In addition, the account was linked to the same email address and the same type of Samsung device as the first Kik account.

On September 22, 2021, a search warrant was executed at Campbell’s Gainesville address, and contact was made with the defendant. He confirmed that he had lived there for approximately 2 years. Post Miranda, Campbell advised that his two cell phones are passcode-protected and that he hadn’t given those passcodes to anyone else. He also said he had recently upgraded his phone from a Samsung Galaxy J7 Crown to a Samsung Galaxy A11; he still had both phones in his possession. He initially denied the allegations but, according to the arrest report, “he later admitted to creating both Kik accounts” and “sharing the child sexual abuse material with other users.”

A search of Campbell’s Galaxy J7 Crown found over 1,000 images of child sexual abuse material. Campbell is currently in the Alachua County Jail.