Strict bond conditions have been set for a Villager accused of videoing his naked granddaughters in the guest bedroom of his home.
Earl Vincent Knight Jr., 73, is free on $26,000 bond following his arrest Tuesday by Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents at his home at 548 St. Andrews Blvd. on the Historic Side of The Villages.
FDLE extracted multiple images of a 16-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl who were apparently undressing in the home of the Knight and his wife, who have been married for more than 40 years. The girls’ “bare buttocks and breasts can be seen in the video,” the report said.
Conditions of Knight’s bond include having no internet access and no possession of devices that are able to access the internet. He is also forbidden to have contact with anyone under the age of 18.
Documents on file in Lake County Court also show that Knight does not qualify for representation by the public defender’s office. He receives $1,600 in monthly Social Security benefits and receives $1,300 per month in retirement/pension income.
When agents arrived at his home at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Knight provided passwords for his phone, iPad and desktop computer and admitted he looked at pornography on his computer using Periscope, according to an arrest report. When an agent began asking about videos recorded inside the home Knight has occupied for five years with his wife, he asked for a lawyer and stopped cooperating.
Knight’s wife told investigators she was aware of surveillance cameras set up inside and outside their home, but had no idea there was a hidden camera that “would have captured anyone undressing in private,” the report said. When she was shown three of the images, Knight’s wife began crying. They were identified as her grandchildren.
“During the search warrant, a computer was located in the guest bedroom with a Logitech video camera attached to it. The Logitech camera was in the same position and same angle as the camera that was used to take the videos,” the FDLE agent noted in the arrest report.
The search warrant turned up other child pornography on Knight’s digital devices, including a 6-year-old female performing oral sex on an adult male. The report indicated the children in those images were not Knight’s relatives.
Knight is facing eight counts of video voyeurism and five counts of possession of child pornography.
