Florida man arrested with boxes filled with child porn

A 72-year-old Florida man has been arrested after boxes filled with child pornography were found at his home, officials say. Hundreds of thousands of printed photos have been seized.

The investigation began in January when the Marion County Sheriff’s Office received information that files depicting child pornography were uploaded from an IP address assigned to Paul Zittel, who lives in Ocala.

When a search warrant was executed at his home, other residents told police that Zittel would not allow anyone to enter his bedroom or office, unless he was personally there to escort them.

“During the search, detectives located countless printed photographs of pornography, many of which depicted [child sexual abuse material],” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. The prints were arranged into large stacks and boxes throughout Zittel’s bedroom and office.

“A printer on his desk displayed obvious signs of heavy use,” the statement said. It is estimated that Zittel possessed more than 220,000 printed images, weighing approximately 2,600 pounds.

Zittel was arrested and taken to the Marion County Jail, where he remains on $250,000 bond. He has been charged with 25 counts of possession of child pornography.

In 2018, a man was arrested with up to 58 terabytes of child pornography.