A 40-year-old Summerfield man who lives just outside the confines of The Villages was jailed Thursday for possessing a large cache of child pornography.
A Marion County sheriff’s detective was alerted Wednesday to an electronic device operating at a Summerfield address. Once the detective was able to confirm the address – 8745 S.E. Hwy. 42, just across from the Mulberry Grove Plaza in The Villages – a search warrant was drafted.
On Thursday morning, detectives served the search warrant on Dane Harland Stevens and located several laptops and hard drives in his bedroom. A detective interviewed Stevens while a digital forensics technician went through his electronic devices, a sheriff’s office report states.
Stevens, who said he had lived at the residence for about 20 years with his father, admitted that he had been viewing and downloading pornography on his devices but denied intentionally downloading files of child pornography. He was then told that several child pornography files were located on his electronic devices, including a hard drive that was hidden within a box-spring below a mattress. He was taken into custody and eventually admitted to searching for, downloading and frequently viewing child pornography throughout his life for “sexual gratification,” the report says, adding that he started crying and said he was sorry.
Stevens was transported to the Marion County Jail and charged with 20 counts of possession of 10 or more child pornography images. He was being held on $100,000 bond and his next court date hasn’t yet been set, jail records show.
Due to the nature of the files found in Stevens’ possession, detectives believe it’s possible that he may have victims in the community. Anyone with pertinent information about Stevens or any possible victims is asked to contact Detective Sutliff at (352) 368-3546.
