Sarasota man facing child porn charges

A Sarasota man was arrested on child pornography charges after detectives say they found images on a cell phone found in his home.

Michael Grider, 46, was arrested on Thursday and charged with 17 counts of possession of child pornography. He is being held at the Sarasota County jail on bonds totaling $170,000.

Police began investigating Grider after being alerted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children of two images of child pornography that Google reported had been uploaded, according to a probable cause affidavit. Detectives traced the email and IP address used for the uploads to Grider and obtained a search warrant for his home.

When detectives searched Grider’s home on Thursday for electronics and storage devices that could contain child pornography, they seized three cell phones, two laptops, a USB drive and various memory cards, according to the report. A forensic scan of one of the devices uncovered 17 images of child pornography and three cartoon anime images that depicted children in a sexual manner.

Grider did not admit guilt to detectives, according to police.

Anyone with any information can call Sarasota Police Detective Megan Buck at 941-954-7067.