Police Find Child Sexual Abuse Material on Joel Searby’s Computer
The leader of Newberry’s charter school initiative, former Yes Newberry board member, former Forward Party Executive, and alleged attempted statutory sexual abuser, Joel Searby, has been charged with 12 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material.
Searby was originally arrested on June 20 after communicating with an underage teenage boy on Snapchat and attempting to invite him over so he could sexually abuse him.
On September 6, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) Deputy Josh Dawson wrote, “I found 12 unique files (24 total) that constitute as CSAM. 2 videos and 10 images. 1 video and the 10 images were all prepubescent males approximately 7-10 years of age. 1 video contained a pubescent male approximately 14-16 years of age.”
Detective Daniel Qualmann found one of the files under the username “Joel Searby.”
Dawson wrote, “The defendant knowingly maintained control [over] stored files of child sexual abuse material on an electronic device. The files located were also tied to his named account. Multiple files also indicated they were opened in a view type program.”
Searby was given a $75,000 bond for each charge, bringing the total to $900,000.
Searby still isn’t eligible for bond in his original case. He filed a motion to set a bond but canceled the hearing after the new charges came in.
Searby's bond motion stated that at his June 25 hearing, ACSO detectives “indicated that they were continuing to investigate for additional victims. They mentioned two other potential victims.”
Searby has a case management hearing for both of his cases on October 21.
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