Active Church Member, Father Faces 76 Child Porn Charges: Polk County Sheriff

AUBURNDALE, FL — An active church member faces 76 child pornography possession charges, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Andrew “Drew” McGaffigan, 39, of Auburndale was arrested and charged with 30 child porn charges on Dec. 17, the sheriff’s office said.

On Tuesday, 46 more counts were added after further investigation of his electronic devices, according to the agency.

He has been jailed since his original arrest. Initially, his bond was set at $300,000 ($10,000 per charge). After his most recent charges, he's now being held without bond.

After the sheriff’s office and the Auburndale Police Department received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Endangered Children about child pornography files being uploaded by McGaffigan, PCSO detectives took over the investigation.

The tips indicated that multiple files were being uploaded to McGaffigan's cloud storage from his mobile device, the sheriff’s office said.

Detectives served an electronic search warrant on the account and found 30 files of children between the ages of 9 months old and 12 years old being sexually abused, investigators said.

An arrest warrant was issued, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office placed McGaffigan under arrest at his job in Plant City. He was later transferred to the Polk County Jail.

McGaffigan's cell phone and electronic devices were seized for forensic examination when he was arrested. Detectives found an additional 46 images and videos depicting child sexual abuse material, PCSO said.

The victims in the digital files ranged in age from 6 months old to about 9 years old. One video showed a child being forced into bestiality acts with a dog.

McGaffigan, an active member of First Baptist Church of Auburndale, is married with children, the agency said. The babies and children in the files weren’t identified as anyone he has access to in his life.

"This suspect is the worst of the worst. Here is a married man with children of his own advocating for the sexual abuse of babies and children. He's also active in his local church. We will continue our thorough investigation to determine whether or not he has abused any child to whom he has access,” Sheriff Grady Judd said.

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