Ave Maria Resident Arrested on Child Porn Charges
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Published on Friday, 09 December 2016 20:38
A 42-year-old Ave Maria man is facing multiple charges of possessing child pornography after sheriff's deputies seized digital devices containing at least 100 images and videos from his home on Ferrari Ave.
The sheriff's office arrest report says that the investigation began Nov. 15 when they received multiple "cybertips" from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children relating to child pornography being uploaded through Skype from a local Comcast internet address. Comcast provided the street address of the customer after receiving a subpoena, deputies obtained a search warrant and on Dec. 8 found several digital devices containing images of children in sexual situations with both other children and adults. Some of the children appeared to be younger than 12 years old, police said.
Police charged the owner of the home, Nicola Costello (left), with 100 counts of possession of child pornography and possession of material depicting sexual performance of a child. Police say additional charges may be forthcoming following a full forensic examination of the electronic storage devices.
The suspect purchased his home in the Maple Ridge neighborhood of Ave Maria in April 2015, according to property records.
