A Key West Police employee was arrested and charged with crimes in the Florida Keys that could lead to 100 years in prison.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s investigation began when agents received a cybertip submitted by Snapchat. FDLE confirmed that at the time 21-year-old Jacob Rookey committed these crimes, he was employed by the Key West Police Department as a 911 telecommunicator, but his brief employment with the Key West PD was terminated.
FDLE agents, along with the FDLE Special Operations Team and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, served a search warrant at Rookey’s residence and seized numerous electronic devices for digital forensic analysis.
The investigation into Rookey was launched when the Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO) received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Rookeywas possessing, viewing, and transmitting CSAM via Snapchat. BSO identified Rookey by his IP address and determined that jurisdiction belonged to FDLE Florida Keys.
That led to the discovery of communications in which Rookey was buying/selling CSAM and animal sexual abuse materials as well as soliciting minors to send him CSAM. In many of the communications, Rookey was posing as an underage girl.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that Jacob Rookey, of Cudjoe Key in the lower Florida Keys, was arrested and if convicted as charged, he faces up to 100 years in the Florida Department of Corrections. Jacob Rookey was charged with seven counts of promotion of animal sexual abuse material, three counts of promotion of AI-generated sexual images, three counts of possession of AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM), two counts of solicitation of child sexual abuse material and one count, each, of promotion of child sexual abuse material, possession of child sexual abuse material and transmission of child sexual abuse material by electronic device.
“Trading in material that involves the sexual exploitation of children and animals is what keeps the sick market for this material alive,” said Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier. “We will seek the maximum punishment under the law for predators who perpetuate this abusive trade.”
MCSO arrested Rookey and transported him to the Monroe County Jail. This arrest is the result of FDLE’s statewide initiative to locate and arrest criminals targeting children and sharing files depicting the sexual abuse of children. Homeland Security Investigations and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) assisted in the investigation.
“Preying on our community’s most innocent and vulnerable will never be okay in Florida. FDLE will investigate these vile crimes and work with Attorney General James Uthmeier’s statewide prosecutors to ensure you do not have the opportunity to victimize our children ever again,” said FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass. “We urge parents and guardians to talk to your children and learn more about what they are putting online. Prevention is the best way to deter crime. Visit the Secure Florida website, which is maintained by the FDLE Cyber Crime and Telecommunications Bureau.”
The investigation is ongoing, and more charges may be filed as needed. This case will be prosecuted by Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Jillian Tate in the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida.
