Gainesville man charged with possession of child sexual abuse material

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Joseph Allen Carnes, 21, was arrested yesterday and charged with possession of a video depicting a sexual performance by a child.

On December 26, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a CyberTip from Snapchat related to two videos showing child sexual abuse material on their platform. One video reportedly showed an adult male raping a pre-pubescent female. The CyberTip was sent to Gainesville Police Department for further investigation.

A search warrant for the Snapchat account reportedly produced the name “Joseph,” an email address, and Carnes’ birth date. A search warrant to Google for the email address reportedly produced Carnes’ name. Pictures of Carnes were reportedly included in two chats provided by Snapchat. Google also reportedly provided location history for the Google account, which included a “Home” address that matched Carnes’ address. A subpoena to Cox reportedly showed that the login IP address belonged to a neighbor of Carnes.

A search warrant was executed at Carnes’ apartment on May 8, and contact was made with Carnes. Post Miranda, Carnes initially denied any knowledge of the Snapchat account but reportedly said the email address was his. He later reportedly admitted to creating and owning the Snapchat account but said it had been hacked, with some “really disgusting” “pedophile stuff” that had been shared from the account. When asked how he knew that child sexual abuse material had been shared when he no longer had access to the hacked account, he said people had messaged him. When asked for specifics, he reportedly said a “really good friend” told him during a “random encounter” at a store. However, he reportedly could not provide contact information for the friend.

He reportedly denied at first that he had ever used a neighbor’s WiFi, but he later said he had used a former neighbor’s WiFi with permission.

When he was asked if child sexual abuse material would be found on any of his devices, he said there would not be any. An on-site search of his phone reportedly produced a 57-minute video that showed an adult male repeatedly raping a pre-pubescent female in different locations and positions; the scene changes every 2-3 minutes. At various points, the child can be seen crying and trying to push the man away. After learning that the video was found, Carnes reportedly invoked his right to remain silent.

Carnes has no local criminal history. Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $80,000.

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.