Florida police arrest state's biggest alleged distributor of child pornography

Florida Department of Law Enforcement officers arrested 51-year-old John Shearen of Leesberg, Florida on Thursday on charges of possession and distribution of child pornography. According to Orlando's WFTV Channel 9, police found Shearen to be in possession of between 500,000 and 1 million full-length pornographic films featuring minor children.

Police called Shearron the largest downloader and distributor of child pornography in Florida and with 15 counts of child pornography possession and 15 counts of child pornography distribution. He was booked into Lake County Jail without bond.

Shearon was at his basement computer downloading still more images of exploited children when police burst into his Leesburg, Florida apartment and took him into custody. Agents identified Shearon in March while monitoring activity on child pornography websites and have been tracking him since then.

FDLE Special Agent Jeff Duncan told WFTV, "We were able to seize anywhere from 500,000 to one million images and videos. They were stored on several computers and external hard drives to actually being transferred from the computers to separate DVDs, and he has a DVD collection of child pornography. So, we have a lot of work to do. Those initial cases will be charged today."

Duncan said that more charges may be added as the investigation progresses.

"He is the No. 1 person that can distribute child pornography throughout the world," he said. "And he's been doing it."

Investigators plan to talk to all parents living in or around Shearen's apartment complex to find out if further crimes were committed and ensure the safety of local children.

Watch raw video of Shearen's arrest, embedded below via WFTE:

[image via FL Dept. of Corrections]