An 18-year-old was arrested on felony charges of computer porn and lewd battery on a 14-year-old girl after her relatives contacted Polk County Sheriff’s Office detectives.
Ivan Ponce of 1427 SW Hillcrest St. in Arcadia was arrested following a PCSO investigation. The girl had been forbidden by her mother to see Ponce, according to his arrest affidavit. The teen was placed in the care of relatives while her mother and other family members had left the country for a family emergency.
While the teen’s family was out of the country, an aunt entered the home where the girl was staying to find Ponce allegedly lying on the bed with the girl in his underwear. When detectives interviewed Ponce and the teen, it was confirmed that the two had engaged in sex and that they had sent each other nude photos through Snapchat, the sheriff’s office said.
When Ponce was arrested, detectives seized his cellphone — at which point he told detectives about the photos of the girl on the phone, the PCSO said. Ponce told detectives he saved the photos because he liked to look at them, according to sheriff’s office reports.
According to Ponce’s arrest affidavit, 25 nude or partially nude photos of the girl were found on his phone.
Ponce was arrested on the felony charges and booked into the Polk County Jail Tuesday. He is being held without bond.