Palmetto man faces prison after downloading child sexual abuse material, prosecutors say
A Palmetto man charged with several counts of possessing child sexual abuse materials pleaded no contest just before the case went to trial.
Anthony Richie Medina, 33, entered a plea of no contest in a Manatee County courtroom on Aug. 19 to 30 charges of possessing child sexual abuse materials, according to court records. Medina was set to go to trial that day.
Medina’s attorney declined to comment when contacted by the Bradenton Herald Friday afternoon.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office arrested Medina in 2021 after detectives said they found at least 50 images and videos depicting child sexual abuse or exploitation material on Medina’s electronic devices.
Detectives wrote in an affidavit that the sheriff’s office flagged an IP address for downloading child sexual abuse material around that time. Detectives said they confirmed some of these files as fully downloaded images and videos depicting child sexual abuse material using “live pictures of real human beings.”
The sheriff’s office subpoenaed Frontier Communications for the subscriber information connected to that IP address and found it belonged to Medina, according to court records. The sheriff’s office said the subpoena also turned up a Palmetto address connected to the account.
When detectives executed a search warrant at the address, , they said they seized multiple electronic devices from Medina’s room, including a desktop computer and a thumb drive. On these devices, detectives said they located 52 images or videos depicting child sexual abuse or exploitation material.
Detectives wrote in an affidavit that the videos and images depicted young girls anywhere from 1 to 15 years old.
Judge Frederick Mercurio will sentence Medina at a later date, according to court records.
