SARASOTA COUNTY- An Osprey minister is arrested on 500 counts of child pornography.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office arrests 66 year old, Charles Andrews, a minister at the Osprey Church of Christ.
Residents in the neighborhood are disgusted, but not surprised.
I’ve lived here for four years and two years a block up, and always had bad vibes from that church,” said resident, Tracy Kiblin.
Detectives said they received information that an IP address was used to download nearly 70 images of child pornography. Deputies arrested Andrews, Tuesday, and discovered more than 500 images on his computer.
“Of those 500 images at least 50 of them depicted sexual battery on a child, which elevates the tier of this crime. So today he is facing 500 counts of possession of child pornography,” said Sarasota County Sheriff’s spokesperson, Kaitlyn Perez.
Andrews is a registered sex offender and was convicted of second degree Sexual Abuse in Alabama in 2006.
“They noted very organized databases; they believe have been in his possession for more than 10 years,” said Perez.
Deputies say Andrews accessed the images using email addresses and social media.
“The defendant in this case had two email addresses and a twitter account, none of which were provided to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. So today he is also facing three counts of failure to meet registration requirements,” said Perez.
According to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, the church did not have a child care program. Andrews is being held at the Sarasota County Jail. His bond is set at more than $5 million.
