East Palatka Man Arrested for Child Pornography

by: Major Keith Riddick

 A 28 year old East Palatka man has been arrested following a search of his home for child pornography.
 Matthew Phillip Bowen of 121 Browning Lane was arrested yesterday following a search warrant executed at his home by members of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office Investigative Division, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and a federal agent with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
 The investigation that led up to the search warrant began on April 23, 2008, when Putnam County Sheriff's Detective William Prioletti was contacted by a Detective with the Martin County Sheriff's Office. Martin County Sheriff's Detective Brian Broughton advised Detective Prioletti, that while working an internet investigation into child pornography conducted in Martin County, he had identified an internet protocol (IP) address coming from Putnam County that was involved in the trading of child pornography and video files.
 Based on the information supplied by Detective Broughton, and other information obtained during Detective Prioletti's follow-up investigation, a search warrant for Bowen's home was issued on May 6, 2008 by Putnam County Circuit Court Judge Terry LaRue. the search warrant was executed yesterday (5/7/2008) morning at approximately eleven o'clock.
 Seized in the search warrant were several compact disks, DVDs, computer hard disk drives, and two lap top computers. Those seized items will be examined by Florida Department of Law enforcement Special Agent Molly Akin, a forensic computer specialist.
 Matthew Phillip Bowen was booked into the Putnam County Jail charged with Possession of Child Pornography and Promoting the Sexual Performance of a Child. His bond was set at $5,008 and he remains jailed at this time. Additional charges could be forthcoming, depending on what is found on the electronic media and computers seized during the search warrant.