Floral City man sentenced to 15 years for possession of child pornography
CCSO mugshot of Downing.
State Attorney's Office, Fifth Judicial Circuit
Marion, Lake, Citrus, Sumter and Hernando counties
Marion, Lake, Citrus, Sumter and Hernando counties
Citrus County, Florida - On Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 55 year-old John Cleveland Downing, Jr., of Floral City, Florida was sentenced to serve 15 years in the Florida Department of Corrections.
Downing was arrested on December 28, 2023, charged with 12 felony counts of possession of child pornography. Downing's case was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Blake Shore.
Downing's arrest followed an investigation led by Detective Patrick Martin of the Citrus County Sheriff's Office High Tech Crimes Unit, in collaboration with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
The investigation began when Detective Martin received a report from NCMEC indicating the presence of potential child pornography linked to a residence in Citrus County. Using advanced investigative techniques, Detective Martin confirmed that Downing possessed numerous images and videos of child pornography. As a result of these findings, Detective Martin and the CCSO Criminal Investigations Division executed a search warrant at Downing's residence. Several digital storage devices were seized as evidence during the search. Downing was arrested and booked into the Citrus County Detention Facility in Lecanto, Florida.
"I commend the detective in this case for following up on this report and apprehending the defendant," said Bill Gladson, Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney. "My office has zero tolerance for criminals who possess this type of material and will vigorously prosecute these cases."