Man arrested in DeSoto County faces multiple child pornography charges

DESOTO COUNTY, Fla. —

A man was arrested in DeSoto County and is facing numerous charges related to child pornography.

According to the DeSoto County Sheriff's Office, Nicholas Pacheco Epitacio was arrested after an investigation began on Nov. 17 when the sheriff's office received an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program tip.

Deputies said the suspect was identified as Epitacio during the investigation. The sheriff's office got a warrant on March 18 for charges of possession of sexual performance by a child (two counts), transmitting material harmful to minors (three counts) and soliciting a child by computer to commit an unlawful sexual act (three counts).

On April 4, Epitacio was taken into custody on the warrant, his phone was seized and he was taken to the DeSoto County Jail.

The sheriff's office said that Epitacio reportedly admitted to them during the interview to communicating online with people he believed to be teens about 14 to 15 years old, and he reportedly said that his sexual preference involved minors within that age range.

In addition, deputies said that Epitacio stated to them that he initially met one of the teens through TikTok, then moved to Snapchat. He also reportedly used Telegram.

A search warrant was obtained for the phone, and after forensic analysis was done, Epitacio faced additional charges, including 12 counts of possession of sexual performance by a child, two counts of solicitation of child pornography, two counts of unlawful use of a two-way communications device and a count of criminal solicitation.

According to the sheriff's office, no local victims were identified.

DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.