A Lake Alfred commissioner was arrested Thursday afternoon and faces charges of possessing roughly 300 images of child pornography.
Charles Oswald Lake, 90, was arrested by Polk County Sheriff’s Office and faces one second-degree felony enhanced charge of possession of child pornography. Lake is being held in jail without bond until his first court appearance.
“I do not know how much child porn I possess, but I have been looking at it since I lived in New Jersey (prior to 2008),” Lake told detectives, according to a police affidavit.
Last November, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received information from Adobe Inc. via its CyberTipline indicating an individual internet service provider address, or ISP, had uploaded three images of a girl, between the ages of 7 and 10. The photos showed the girl in varying stages of undress and “exposed in a lewd manner,” according to a police affidavit.
The analyst assigned to the CyberTipline report traced the ISP address to somewhere in Lake Alfred. A subpoena was filed with the State Attorney’s Office to determine owned the ISP from Spectrum, or Charter Communications.
On Jan. 10, information from Spectrum showed the ISP address belonged to Lake, according to the affidavit. Law enforcement then used DAVID, a database of drivers and registered motor vehicle information, to located Lake.
On April 18, a search warranted was approved by Assistant State Attorney Monica Smith to search Lake’s home, where deputies said he lives alone. Polk County detectives began their search about 1 p.m. Thursday with Lake present.
Lake told detectives he had child porn on his computer, most of which was saved to an external thumb drive in his office, according to the affidavit. A search of Lake’s office found a silver Patriot thumb drive labeled with “XXX” on the underside of the USB.
Detectives said they found 300 images and videos of pre-teenage children, male and female, on the thumb drive. In the affidavit, detectives describe young children posed in a lewd manner or engaged in sexual activity.
According to the affidavit, Lake told detectives he became fascinated with child porn and how it came to exist while working as a journalist, and he developed an interest in where it originated and why such young children are involved. Lake had a 50-year career in magazine publishing in New York City, according to his biography on the City of Lake Alfred’s website.
Lake told detectives he only began saving child pornography on his devices within the past two years, according to the affidavit.
Under Florida law, child pornography charges can be enhanced when an individual possesses 10 or more images, the content includes a child younger than 5, or any movies.
Lake’s term serving in Seat 2 on the Lake Alfred Commission is currently scheduled to run through April 2027.
Lake Alfred City Manager Ryan Leavengood told 8 the media the city is “shocked and dismayed” by the charges levied against the city commissioner.
“The City was not a part of the law enforcement investigation, but we will fully cooperate with the Sheriff’s Office and any other investigative agencies on this matter,” Leavengood said in a statement. “We have contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the State Attorney’s Office and requested further guidance.”
Lake’s bond was set at $1.5 million on Friday.