Fort Meade man arrested after 'homemade' videos showed him sexually abusing children, officials say
FORT MEADE, Fla. - Polk County detectives arrested a 36-year-old man from Fort Meade for engaging in sexual activities with children and possession child pornography, they said.
Detectives said the investigation into Steven Lacy DeVane started in May after the Fort Myers Police Department notified them of a tip they received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. They said there were images and videos of child pornography being downloaded from a Fort Meade address.
During the investigation, detectives said they discovered homemade images and videos showing DeVane sexually abusing children he had access to. Officials did not specify how he knew the victims.
After executing a search warrant, detectives said they found bed sheets, a mirror, window coverings that appeared to be the same as ones seen in the images and video. They also seized his cell phone, and found 70 files of child porn imagery. The victims were between the ages of 2 and 12.
“DeVane not only engaged in child pornography, he also committed lewd acts in the presence of a baby he had access to – and filmed it," Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. "I am grateful, that with the help of our partners at NCMEC, our detectives were able to lock him up and rescue his victims from that beyond horrific environment.”
DeVane was arrested and faces three charges of using a child to engage in sex acts and 70 counts of child porn possession.