Paul Stephen Zittel (Marion County Sheriff’s Office)
A 72-year-old man in Florida was arrested last week after authorities say they recovered so many images depicting child sexual abuse that the total weight of the printed photos tipped the scales at more than 2,600 pounds, well over one ton.
Paul Stephen Zittel was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with 25 counts obscene material — possession of 10 or more child porn images, jail records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
According to a press release from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, a detective in January was given a tip stating that multiple files depicting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) had recently been uploaded to the internet. Further investigation determined that the files were uploaded from IP addresses assigned to Zittel. A search warrant was then obtained for Zittel’s residence, in Ocala, 40 miles south of Gainesville, Fla.
Investigators executed a search warrant on Zittel’s home. Upon arriving at the residence, investigators made contact with several other individuals who resided in the home. Those individuals told detectives that Zittel would not allow others into his bedroom or office unless he was “personally escorting them,” according to the release.
The detectives then proceeded to search Zittel’s bedroom and office.
“During the search, detectives located countless printed photographs of pornography, many of which depicted CSAM,” the release states. “The prints had been arranged into large stacks and boxes throughout Zittel’s bedroom and office, and a printer on his desk displayed obvious signs of heavy use. Detectives seized the printed materials, a computer, and a digital storage device and removed them from the home.”
CSAM recovered from Zittel’s home (via Marion County Sheriff’s Office)
Following the recovery of the CSAM from the home, Zittel was placed under arrest and transported to Marion County Jail, where he is currently being held on $250,000 bond.
Detectives estimated that the total amount CSAM recovered from Zittel’s home amounted to “more than 220,000 printed images in Zittel’s possession, which together weighed approximately 2,600 pounds,” the release states.
CSAM recovered from Zittel’s home (via Marion County Sheriff’s Office)
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