VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A SWAT team raided a DeLand home early in the morning on Friday as part of a child exploitation case, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.
In a release, deputies said that a search warrant was executed along Lake Forest Drive.
Afterward, deputies added that multiple electronic devices were seized from the home, leading to the arrest of 40-year-old suspect Trent Prather.
“During an initial forensic examination of Trent Prather’s devices, we found 42,000+ files that appear to contain illegal images of children...” the release reads. “The recovered images included girls from the ages of about 4 to 10, which will disturb you even more when you find out that his own children are in that age range.”
Now, Prather faces five counts of weapon or ammunition possession by a convicted felon, along with 20 counts of possessing materials depicting child pornography. He is held without bond.
But according to Sheriff Mike Chitwood, this isn’t even Prather’s first time getting caught.
“In 2011, in Utah, he was investigated and arrested for viewing the same type of content, mostly involving girls 6-7 years old, but some as young as 2,” the release continues. “He was charged with 10 counts of exploitation of a minor and sentenced to probation.”
Then, Prather was reportedly investigated in Utah again back in 2018 after the NCMEC submitted a tip that he’d downloaded even more files, though it appeared there wasn’t enough evidence to charge or prosecute him, investigators explained.
That said, Chitwood declared that the VSO’s Child Exploitation Unit will be looking into this case to make sure his “years-long pattern of sick and dangerous behavior is over.”
“I have been asked how this danger to society was allowed to leave Utah and find a fresh start in DeLand, FL, without having to register as a sex offender,” Chitwood said. “Or how he was able to purchase guns as a convicted felon. I’d like to know those answers, too.”