The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office arrested 57-year-old Palm Coast resident Gary Durso this week on one child pornography charge, the agency announced. Durso, a resident of Palm Coast’s E Section, is a registered sex offender due to a previous criminal charge.
In 2013, Durso was alleged to have traveled to commit unlawful sexual acts with a minor in Osceola County. He was convicted and made to register as a sex offender. Since moving to Flagler County, Durso has no criminal charges prior to this most recent arrest. Due to his sex offender status, if convicted on his current charge Durso faces a mandatory ten-year prison sentence.
The investigation into Durso began with a tip to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). That agency’s CyberTipline received notice of an online account linked to Durso, which reportedly contained multiple files of child pornography.
The FCSO’s Cyber Crimes/Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit investigated the tip along with the Northeast Florida Inter-Agency Child Exploitation and Persons Trafficking Task Force (NEFL INTERCEPT). On Tuesday a search warrant on Durso’s home was served and executed by personnel from both agencies plus the Digital Forensics Unit.
ⓒ Flagler County Sheriff’s Office
K-9 Birdie, an electronic storage detection dog, was part of the search of Durso’s home. The search warrant led to the collection of laptops, cell phones, and flash drives which were believed to contain explicit child sexual material. Durso was arrested on one charge of possession of child pornography and booked into the county jail on a $15,000 bond. As of Friday, Durso is still in custody.
“Although these perverts probably won’t listen, my message is clear: If you are a pervert exploiting children, we will find you and arrest you,” said Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly. “This pervert has a history of targeting children, but thanks to our partnership with NCMEC and the INTERCEPT Task Force, along with Florida’s strong laws protecting our children, he should be spending many years in prison.”
