A West Palm Beach man has been taken into custody on thirty counts of possession of child pornography, as first reported by CBS12. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office detailed that Johnny Aleman, 38, faces allegations surrounding the discovery of numerous files labeled as child notable. Aleman was arrested this past Wednesday and is currently being held on a total of $150,000 bond.
The investigation that led to the charges began in early October, following an online alert about potential child pornography. By November, authorities were executing a search warrant at a residence Aleman shared with others. The initial tip-off came from scanning software which detected 210 unique files, based on historical data linked to an IP address traced back to Aleman's home, according to WPBF.
The Sheriff’s Office has reported finding file-sharing software on Aleman's computer which could be used to distribute the offensive material. Alongside this software, there were search terms promoting the heinous content. CBS12 also revealed that an affidavit noted file names that hinted at the extremely young age of the victims and the nature of abuse depicted in the files.
During an interview as his home was being searched, Aleman admitted to owning the computer and seeing pornography online. However, he claimed that he solely had videos of himself and his girlfriend. Despite this claim, within two weeks, dozens of CSAM files were extracted from the seized devices, leading to Aleman's subsequent arrest, as pointed out by CBS12.
Aleman has now been ordered not to have any contact with children and is barred from internet access in the wake of these charges. He remains in custody, and the investigation is ongoing.
