FDLE agents arrested Jose Enrique Ortega, 41, of Fort Myers, for 20 counts of possession of child pornography in violation of Florida Statute 827.071(5)(a), a third-degree felony. Due to the number of images and the sexual battery of children depicted in the images, each count is enhanced to second-degree felonies based on F.S. 775.0847(2).
On January 12, Ortega was arrested for violating his pretrial release from previous arrests involving lewd or lascivious molestation of a child and possession of child sexual abuse material. A computer belonging to Ortega was turned over to FDLE agents shortly after his arrest in January. Ortega was also carrying a smartphone with him at the time of his arrest.
FDLE Fort Myers Regional Operations Center Cyber Squad agents secured a search warrant for Ortega’s computer and smartphone. Forensic examinations of Ortega’s devices uncovered images and videos of children involved in sex acts. More than 1,000 child sexual abuse material files were recovered from the two devices.
On March 9, FDLE agents obtained an arrest warrant for Ortega for the new charges. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office assisted with serving the arrest warrant to Ortega, who is currently being held at the Lee County Jail.
Ortega was ordered held without bond pending first appearance. The case will be prosecuted by Office of the State Attorney, 20th Judicial Circuit.
Please visit the FDLE website to review tips for keeping your children safe online at https://secureflorida.org/SF/Family-Safety/BPParents.
