State Lawyer Dennis Ward introduced on July 3 that Alexander Louis Morris, 28, of Huge Pine Key, was sentenced to 6 years in a Florida jail after pleading responsible to 6 felony fees stemming from two separate little one exploitation circumstances.
The investigations had been led by the Florida Division of Legislation Enforcement (FDLE) with help from Homeland Safety Investigations (HSI) and the Web Crimes In opposition to Kids (ICAC) Activity Pressure.
Morris pleaded responsible to depend considered one of selling a sexual efficiency by a baby – a second-degree felony and counts two to 6 for possession of a sexual efficiency by a baby – second-degree felonies. He was sentenced to 6 years in state jail on depend one, and 5 years on every of counts two by six, with all phrases to run concurrently, leading to a complete of six years in jail.
Following his launch, Morris will serve 4 years of sexual offender probation, which incorporates digital monitoring, court-ordered therapy, restrictions on web and social media entry, and a everlasting itemizing on the Florida Sexual Offender Registry. He was additionally ordered to pay fines and court docket prices.
The forensic investigation revealed that Morris possessed a big assortment of digital recordsdata involving the abuse and exploitation of minors. Among the many proof had been what investigators known as “trophy movies,” recordings Morris fabricated from himself participating in lewd conduct whereas viewing exploitative materials — an act that displays not solely intent however private funding within the hurt being depicted.
“This wasn’t simply unlawful — it was vile,” stated State Lawyer Dennis Ward. “The content material Mr. Morris possessed was extraordinarily disturbing and flat-out disgusting. These movies confirmed actual kids being subjected to unthinkable acts. And to make issues worse, Morris made private recordings of himself reacting to that content material — turning little one abuse into his personal non-public ritual. It’s past troubling. Due to the excellent work of FDLE and our federal companions, he’s now behind bars and might be monitored for years to return.”
The primary investigation started in December 2023, when FDLE brokers executed a search warrant at Morris’s Huge Pine Key residence and seized a number of digital gadgets. Dozens of recordsdata had been uncovered depicting egregious abuse of prepubescent kids. A second case quickly adopted, prompted by a sequence of CyberTipline studies submitted to the Nationwide Heart for Lacking and Exploited Kids (NCMEC). The following pointers traced Morris to a number of on-line accounts used to obtain and share unlawful content material by platforms akin to Kik, Discord, Telegram, and Snapchat.
“These two separate circumstances revealed the identical sample: a person deeply immersed within the on-line exploitation of youngsters,” Ward added. “Each picture, each video, represents an actual little one who endured actual trauma. Nobody who engages in this sort of habits will go unnoticed or unpunished in Monroe County.”
Morris is at present serving his sentence within the custody of the Florida Division of Corrections.