Crime & Safety
Tampa Man Charged With 10 Counts Of Possessing Child Porn: Sheriff
Pinellas sheriff's detectives said they found child porn on his cellphone depicting children age 5 to 12.
PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — Pinellas County sheriff's detectives have arrested a Tampa man accused of multiple counts of possession of child pornography featuring children between the ages of 5 and 12.
On June 15, detectives arrested and charged 31-year-old Joseph Machard Watkins of East Ellicott Street, Tampa, with sexual battery and transmission of material harmful to a minor and booked him into the Pinellas County Jail.
He bonded out of jail on Aug. 5 and detectives continued their investigation. Over the next months, the sheriff's office said detectives located several files of child pornography on his cellphone.
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On March 15, detectives arrested Watkins at the Pinellas County Justice Center before a pre-trial hearing on the original charge. When Watkins was interviewed by detectives, he denied knowledge of the files.
He was charged with 10 counts of child pornography.
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