UF student arrested on child pornography charges received verbal warning last year

Staff report

Updated on September 20 with release conditions

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Tyler Ngoc Do, 21, was arrested this morning and charged with possession and attempted distribution of child sexual abuse material.

On April 12, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a CyberTip that a video of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) had been uploaded to a Dropbox account in June 2019, and the user had attempted to share it on April 12, 2025. The video reportedly showed a nude pre-pubescent male.

A Gainesville Police Department (GPD) Detective issued a subpoena to Google for the email account used to create the Dropbox account, and that produced a list of login IP addresses, most of which were associated with a Cox account in Gainesville that was owned by a member of Do’s family. The phone number associated with the Google account also belonged to a member of Do’s family.

The University of Florida Police Department (UFPD) confirmed that Do is a current student at the university; UFPD’s records reportedly included the phone number associated with the Google account and the same email address that was used to create the Dropbox account.

The GPD Detective learned on August 1 that Do was the subject of two other CyberTips in 2022, which were investigated by the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ASO). Deputies reported that Do was verbally counseled in 2024 about possession of CSAM.

This morning, a search warrant was executed at a house shared by Do and other family members, and Do reportedly said his family members had nothing to do with the reason officers were there, it was because of him, and there was a misunderstanding.

Post Miranda, Do reportedly confirmed that the phone number and email address associated with the Dropbox account are his. When asked about a Dropbox account, Do reportedly said that was why he believed officers were at his residence; he said the account in the CyberTip is his and said he had logged into it in April 2025 and then logged out. He said that when he tried to log back in, he got an email from Dropbox stating that the account had been deactivated because CSAM was found in the account.

Do reportedly denied at first that he knew about the CSAM on his account, but he later said he was going through a “dark” time; he initially denied sharing or attempting to share the CSAM video, but then he said he had “messed up again” after receiving the warning from ASO last year.

Do reportedly said the last time he viewed child pornography was in April 2024, but he later said he views it on X but does not intentionally seek it out.

Do has been charged with possession of child pornography, attempted distribution of child pornography, and unlawful use of a two-way communications device. He has no criminal history. Judge David Kreider set bail at $100,000, and Do was released from jail on September 17; he is prohibited from accessing the internet and unsupervised contact with minors.

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.