A Florida man who was charged last month with possession of child pornography now faces nearly 1,200 more charges after detectives discovered he had a large amount of child pornography in his possession.
Johnathan Jhovanni Hernandez, 23, was arrested Dec. 29 on two counts of possession of child pornography, two counts of transmitting child pornography and one count of using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony, the office said. Highlands County Sheriff. After a months-long investigation, his arrest came after officials received a tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
The sheriff’s office now says Hernandez faces an additional 1,182 counts of possession of child pornography. He is also charged with four counts of possession of images of bestiality under a new law that took effect in October.
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Johnathan Jhovanni Hernandez
(Highlands County Sheriff’s Office)
“At that time, we told him that the investigation was just beginning and that there would likely be more charges. What we should have said is that there would likely be a LOT more charges, like no one in our county…ever,” the office wrote. Sheriff’s on Facebook.
Hernandez was arrested for the second time Tuesday after investigators reviewed his electronic devices seized during his arrest last month. He had been out on bail.
Highlands County Sheriff’s Office
(Highlands County Sheriff’s Office)
Detectives said their nearly 1,200 new charges resulted from checking just one of their 15 devices.
“It is not known how many charges he could face if detectives went through all the devices. Detectives say Hernandez’s child pornography collection is the largest they have ever seen,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
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Highlands County Sheriff’s Office
(Highlands County Sheriff’s Office)
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Hernandez is being held on $2.4 million bail and has enough charges to keep him in prison for potentially life.
