[PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 03/30/21]
DeLAND, Florida — A 33-year-old man is facing 10 counts of possession of child pornography after Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents searched his home in the DeLand area of Lake County Friday.
FDLE searched the home of Christopher James Lassell at 31903 Hillside Drive, DeLand early Friday morning after receiving a Cyber Tipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that was reported by the messaging app Kik, according to an arrest affidavit.
When questioned by FDLE, Lassell admitted using the username “28joker87” to send and receive child pornography to people in chat rooms he claimed he did not know. Lassell admitted his “sexual curiosity” prompted him to view, accept and share the kiddie porn and he acknowledged the files portrayed children under 12 years old. Lassell told FDLE he did not personally know any of the children and he had not sexually abused any children.
Agents searched Lassell’s cell phone and found one video file that showed a 9-year-old girl performing sex acts with an adult male. Lassell was also charged with the video files reported in the Cyber Tip, the affidavit states. Those nine images included children as young as 4-years-old in various sex acts.
Lassell— who has a tattoo of a joker’s face, as well as one which says, “Laugh Now Cry Later”— was transported to the Lake County Jail, where he is being held on no bond.
_______________________________
Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. Born and raised in Lake County, she is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She started her journalism career at LSSC, where she was editor of both student publications, The Angler and The Odyssey. Her professional career began at the Daily Commercial in 2004 where she covered cops and courts the majority of her time there until she left in 2009. Currently, along with being Editor-in-Chief of Lake Legal News, she is the Florida bureau chief for an international media organization. She has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
