A 26-year-old Osceola County man is being held without bond after deputies say they traced Snapchat videos of child sexual abuse and a family pet back to him in an investigation that began with a tip from a national watchdog group and remains active. Jerry Jesus Reyes was arrested Tuesday and now faces nine counts of possession of child pornography and three counts of possessing pornographic videos depicting prohibited sexual activity involving a child and an animal.
The case originated after Osceola County Sheriff's Office detectives received a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to aroundosceola.com, which said the report triggered an Internet Crimes Against Children Unit investigation. Deputies said they found videos showing Reyes sexually abusing young children, including an infant, according to WKMG.
Investigators said records obtained through subpoenas and search warrants linked Reyes to an account containing videos depicting the sexual abuse of young children, including an infant, as reported by WFTV. The same records, per the sheriff's release, also connected Reyes to pornographic videos depicting sexual activity involving a person and a dog.
A Family Pet Becomes Key Evidence
A witness identified Reyes in photographs obtained from the Snapchat account and also recognized the dog in the photographs as a family pet, a white-and-black pit bull named Lola, the sheriff's office said, per the same account.
Reyes had previously been the subject of multiple Internet Crimes Against Children investigations in 2016, 2021 and 2022, according to the Sheriff's Office. He is currently being held without bond, and the investigation remains active, per WFTV's report.
Florida's Legal Framework for the Charges
Under Florida law, knowingly engaging in sexual contact with an animal is a second-degree felony, according to Florida Statutes, while knowingly filming, distributing or possessing a pornographic image or video of a person and an animal engaged in prohibited activities is a third-degree felony. Separately, Florida law treats each act of knowingly possessing, controlling or intentionally viewing qualifying child sexual abuse material as its own second-degree felony offense, and possession of three or more copies is considered prima facie evidence of intent to promote the material, according to Florida Statutes covering child sexual abuse material.
The Osceola County Sheriff's Office is urging anyone with information about this case or a similar incident to call (407) 348-2222.
