Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Crime

Jailed Palm Coast Man Charged with Child Porn Possession

ⓒ Flagler County Sheriff's Office

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has issued child pornography charges against a man already in jail on drug charges this week, the agency announced Friday. 30-year-old Eric Hoover Jr. has been in custody since June 10th, and on Thursday he was given a dozen additional criminal charges.

Hoover’s initial arrest came as part of the FCSO’s ‘Operation: Summer Slammer’, in which 19 suspects were arrested in connection to a countywide narcotics investigation. He was charged then with possession of cocaine with intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver, plus unlawful usage of a two-way communication device.

Ever since that arrest Hoover has been at the county jail without bond, and additional charges were added for possession of drug paraphernalia and violation of probation. Special Investigations Unit (SIU) detectives investigating his alleged drug activities were the ones to come across what they described as ‘child sexual abuse material’ on his mobile phone.

A search warrant was procured for the phone, and the FCSO Digital Forensic Unit underwent a forensic autopsy of it. According to the FCSO, 23 files were discovered containing ‘sexually explicit photos and videos of victims determined to be under 5 years of age’.

Hoover was re-arrested at the county jail on July 31st, now with eleven additional charges: ten counts of possession of child pornography plus one county of allowing a child to engage in sex. He’s still in custody as of Saturday, still with no bond. The FCSO Cyber Crimes Unit and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children are currently working to identify and locate the victims of Hoover’s alleged crimes, and so more charges may be levied against him as the investigation continues.

“We arrested this dirtbag back in June as a drug-dealing target of Operation: Summer Slammer, but our detectives found out that he was committing crimes that are even more heinous,” said Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly. “I commend everyone involved for their hard work making sure this poison peddler pervert faces the consequences of his sick fantasies, and he shouldn’t see the outside of a prison cell for a long, long time.”

Written By

Chris Gollon is a Flagler County resident since 2004, as well as a staple of the local independent music scene and avid observer of Central Florida politics, arts, and recreation.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

You May Also Like

Crime

Palm Coast’s David Chenowith has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for a slew of child sex crimes. The 33-year-old L Section resident...

Crime

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday arrested a man accused of molesting a local teenager. 18-year-old Josiah Morales was charged with lewd or...

Flagler Beach

A Flagler Beach police sergeant has been suspended three days without pay for the wrongful arrest of Jeffrey Gray in March 2025, the Flagler...

Crime

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has arrested 29-year-old Autumn Bardisa for allegedly working as a nurse at AdventHealth Palm Coast without the requisite credentials...

City Council

The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday heard a presentation from Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly outlining his request for close to $2.2 million higher...