Man Arrested for Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material

NEWS RELEASE 21-062 - NOVEMBER 18, 2021
ANDERSON, WILLIAM

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office arrested a 35-year-old Sarasota man for Possession and Transmission of Child Sexual Abuse Material.

Detectives received a tip in October from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) after several videos depicting child pornography were uploaded to KIK, an online messenger application. Through investigation, detectives utilized the IP address used to upload the videos, to identify William Anderson, DOB 11/08/86, as the suspect. A search of his cellphone yielded 40 explicit images and videos with victims ranging in age from 4 to 14 years old. During an interview, Anderson admitted to distributing illegal images to others online.

Anderson, of 5281 DeSoto Parkway, was arrested Tuesday and is charged with 40 counts of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material and a single count of Transmission of Child Sexual Abuse Material by Electronic Device. He remains in custody on $615,000 bond while the investigation continues.