Villager was target of child porn probe soon after move from Wisconsin

A Villager became the target of a child pornography investigation soon after he and his wife moved from Wisconsin to Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.

Patrick Krepline, 61, continued to be held at the Lake County Jail this week, following his arrest this past week by Fruitland Park police on 17 counts of possession of child pornography and 17 counts of transmission of pornography by electronic device.

Krepline and his wife purchased a home in October 2024 at 3314 Veltre Way in the Village of Pine Hills.

A tip was received May 28 by the Central Florida Internet Crime Against Children Task Force regarding possible illicit activity. Initially, the information was being investigated by the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, but it was soon determined that the activity was connected to Krepline’s home, which is located in the Fruitland Park section of The Villages in Lake County.

Investigators found that Krepline still has a Wisconsin driver’s license and still owns a home in Brillion, Wis. Contact was made with the Calumet County Sheriff’s Office in Wisconsin and a detective with that office found Krepline’s phone number from a 2023 accident report. The number led to a search warrant for Krepline’s Media Lab/Kik message account.

Krepline’s account had 17 videos focusing on “young girls engaged in sexual activity.” There were also three photographs of Krepline’s face, four photos of his penis and one with a piece of paper that said, “for sarah smiles 4-22-25.”

Messages sent by Krepline also included one that said “60 m the villages” which meant he was a 60-year-old male in The Villages. In another message, dated May 13, he asked, “Do you have any really young”?

Krepline is set for felony arraignment on Nov. 10 in Lake County Court.