Fort Myers Man Arrested on Ten Counts of Child Pornography Possession; Tips Came from Both Google and Facebook

FORT MYERS, FL – On October 21, 2020, detectives with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit arrested Josue Centeno, 38, of Fort Myers, and charged him with 10 counts of sexual performance by a child. Due to the quantity and explicit nature of the images, Centeno’s charges were enhanced from a third-degree felony to a second-degree felony.

In December of 2019 and January of 2020, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received 14 tips from both Google and Facebook that child pornography was being uploaded to the internet.

After an extensive investigation, Lee County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit detectives assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force found evidence that Centeno uploaded numerous photos and videos from his email account that depicted children in a sexual manner.

“This predator is behind bars where he belongs,” stated Sheriff Carmine Marceno. “Our Special Victims Unit Detectives and Digital Forensics Unit followed up on every single lead. I am proud of the hard work they did to take Josue Centeno off the streets.”

A warrant was issued for Centeno’s arrest, and with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force and LCSO Patrol Units, detectives located Centeno and took him into custody. He was charged with 10 counts of Obscene Material Possession and as of press time, remains in custody.