Sarasota man caught with ‘child-like sex doll,’ and child porn, cops say

A 64-year-old Sarasota man told law enforcement that his addiction to child pornography is “an itch you know is wrong,” but it only became more disturbing from there, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office.

Besides images of child pornography, Daniel Delong, who lists himself as a cashier at a Walmart in Venice, was found to have a doll that he modified into a “child-like sex doll,” that he would have sex with, deputies say.

Investigators received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in September that images of child pornography had been downloaded to Delong’s electronic devices.

Detectives began to build their case and executed a search warrant on Delong’s Venice home on Thursday.

When confronted with the images, Delong said he accidentally downloaded those specific images, but admitted that he has viewed “thousands” of images over the past two years, according to the arrest report.

The ages of the children in the images range from infancy to prepubescent and depict the children being sexually assaulted by adult males, the report states.

As deputies searched the home, the child sex doll was found in his bedroom and was dressed in toddler clothes and the private area was modified in such a way that he could have sex with it. Deputies say Delong admitted to having sex with the doll.

Delong was charged with 40 counts of possession of child pornography and booked into the Sarasota County jail where he remains in custody.