A Central Florida man was found guilty of 37 counts of possession of child pornography.
Last week, a jury found 66-year-old Charles Fred Fesler, of Lake County, guilty on all counts.
“As I’ve said before, our office stands firm against the exploitation of children,” said Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bill Gladson. “I am extremely grateful to the jurors for their service during this trial proceeding.”
Back in January of 2020, Lady Lake Police Department deputies were informed by a victim that Fesler had shown them images of nude, prepubescent females on his computer.
After interviews were conducted with the victim, probable cause existed for Fesler’s arrest for Lewd and Lascivious Acts on a Child under 12. Officials located Fesler at his residence in Lady Lake and placed him under arrest. A warrant was then secured to search Fesler’s computer for further investigation into the child pornography claim.
Once the computer was examined, detectives located numerous images of obvious child pornography. During an earlier interview, the victim described some of the illicit photographs which matched what officials discovered.
After being found guilty, the Honorable Judge James R. Baxley ordered Fesler into custody to await his sentencing hearing.
The State Attorney also gave thanks to Detective Perdue with the Lady Lake Police Department for diligently investigating this case and to Assistant State Attorneys Kati Cosden and Gennady Gusak for the successful prosecution.