Homosassa man found guilty of predatory internet crimes against alleged 14 year-old
State Attorney's Office, Fifth Judicial Circuit of Florida
Citrus County, Florida - On Friday, January 26, 2024, in an Inverness, Florida courtroom, jurors found 38 year-old Glenn Talmage Cunningham, of Homosassa, Florida, guilty of four counts of transmission of material harmful to a minor and two counts of computer pornography to seduce, solicit, lure, or entice a child to engage in an illegal act. Cunningham did not appear in court during his trial, but no reason was given by court officials as to why.
Cunningham's case was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Blake Shore and Elizabeth Colombrito.
In March 2023, Cunningham was arrested by officials with the Citrus County Sheriff's Office, High Tech Crimes Unit during Operation Lucky Strike, an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) undercover operation aimed at apprehending internet cyber predators who attempted to engage in sexual activity with a child.
As part of the operation, law enforcement officials posed as minors on websites, waiting to be solicited through online messages by child predators. During Opertion Lucky Strike, eleven child predators sent sexually explicit pictures, messages, or detailed requests of sexual activities they wanted to perform with the child, to officials posing as children on the internet
During the operation, law enforcement officials were contacted by Cunningham, who had texted and called a enforcement officer he believed to be a 14 year-old girl. After Cunningham had sent the alleged girl two graphic images and made numerous other contacts, officials had enough evidence to arrest Cunningham, so an arrest warrant was issued for him.
Citrus County Sheriff's Office detectives contacted Cunningham; he told them that he believed he was speaking to an adult, despite evidence from a chat forum and text messages that showed he was aware that the alleged girl was 14 years-old. Cunningham admitted to detectives that he'd sent pornographic images of his male anatomy to the alleged 14 year-old girl.
"Our office commends the diligence of law enforcement in ensuring the safety of our youth by conducting operations such as this," said William "Bill" Gladson, Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney. "This verdict removes another predator off our streets. We will continue to work alongside our law enforcement counterparts to prosecute those who exploit and endanger children."