TALLAHASSEE — Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the arrests of two men on child sexual exploitation charges — a 66-year-old Louisiana man accused of soliciting minors online and a 36-year-old New Port Richey man found with more than 1,000 child sexual abuse material files on his computer.
“Anyone who believes state lines will stop us from bringing you to face justice should think again,” said Attorney General Uthmeier. “Thanks to outstanding interagency collaboration between my Office of Statewide Prosecution, FDLE, and the Louisiana State Police, this defendant was quickly identified and arrested. We will continue working aggressively to stop predators in their tracks.”
Eddie Filce, 66, of Louisiana, faces one count of Use of a Computer to Solicit Certain Illegal Acts, two counts of Lewd and Lascivious Exhibition, five counts of Transmission of Harmful Materials to Minors and five counts of Harmful Communications with Minors. The investigation began April 10 when a Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent conducting an undercover operation on the Paltalk chatroom platform connected with Filce, who believed he was communicating with a 13-year-old girl. Filce allegedly exposed himself, performed sexually harmful acts and attempted to solicit child sexual abuse materials during video chats. He also engaged in a similar conversation with another undercover agent he believed to be a 12-year-old boy.
Louisiana State Police arrested Filce on May 5. He was booked into the Terrebonne Parish Jail on an $85,000 bond and currently awaits extradition to Florida.
In a separate case, Joseph Dearborn, 36, of New Port Richey, was arrested and charged with 15 counts of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials and one count of Promotion of a Sexual Performance by a Child. His IP address was first identified Jan. 16 during an undercover FDLE internet operation targeting individuals using Peer-to-Peer networks on eDonkey software to traffic and distribute child sexual abuse material.
“If it has not already been made abundantly clear, Florida is the wrong place to be a predator,” Uthmeier said. “I will stop at nothing to protect our kids. I am grateful for the prosecutors and law enforcement officers who got this criminal off the streets.”
FDLE agents executed a search warrant at Dearborn’s New Port Richey residence on May 13, seizing electronic devices including a desktop computer. A forensic extraction revealed over 1,000 child sexual abuse material files downloaded to the device. Dearborn was arrested on the scene and faces up to 90 years in the Florida Department of Corrections if convicted on all charges.
Special Counsel Rita Peters will prosecute both cases in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida. The investigation into Filce remains ongoing, and additional charges may be filed.