33-year-old Palm Coast resident James McGill was arrested on Thursday on ten counts of possession of a sexual performance by a child, otherwise known as child pornography. McGill was the subject of an investigation by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office’s Cyber Crimes/Internet Crimes Against Children Unit (ICAC), who received a tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).
The first run-in detectives had with McGill on the case occurred on January 11th of this year, when a search warrant was executed at his home in Palm Coast’s K Section. He was interviewed then and there, and multiple of his own electronic devices were seized. The subsequent investigation reportedly led to the discovery of ten files, consisting of both photos and video, of children ages five to eleven in sexually explicit states.
McGill was booked into the county jail on Thursday without incident, where he remains in custody with a bond of $150,000. All ten charges against are felonies. This is his second time being booked into the county jail, following an arrest in January 2010 for marijuana possession under 20 grams. He stayed in jail overnight on one misdemeanor charge that time, and will likely be anticipating a lengthier stay if for no other reason than the task of amassing $150,000 in bond money.
“I want to commend Detective Held, our lead investigator in our Cyber Crimes/ICAC Unit, in building a case to put this pervert behind bars at the [county jail],” said Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly in a quote attached to the FCSO’s report. “Thanks to the tip from NCMEC, we were able to apprehend him before he could become a more serious child predator. This type of perverted behavior will not be allowed in Flagler County, and we will come after you.”
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.
