James Anthony Abravaya of Hialeah, Florida was arrested on January 18 after police discovered thousands of child pornography files on his computer. The files reportedly featured girls as young as 2 years of age.
Abravaya, 66, faces 46 counts of possession of sexual performance by a child. He is being held at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on $46,000 bond, according to jail records. It is unclear if he has hired an attorney.
According to the arrest report, police arrested executed a search warrant at Abravaya’s company—an architectural business called Sabana Windows located in Miami—and found 46 images of children between 2 and 10 years of age engaged in various sexual acts, including bondage, oral sex, bestiality, and intercourse with adults.
Miami Police Department’s Special Victims Bureau and Internet Crimes Against Children Squad collaborated with agents from Homeland Security and detectives from the Miami-Dade Police Department in the investigation. Police issued a search warrant after an anonymous tipper told them they saw child porn on Abravaya’s Dropbox account.
After finding the initial 46 images, investigators later found over 40,000 additional child pornography files on Abravaya’s cloud storage account, the report said. It is unclear if the number of counts against Abravaya will be increased, but police also reportedly seized multiple items that may have value as evidence when they executed a search warrant at Abravaya’s home.
Child pornography is defined as any medium that depicts persons under 18 years of age performing sex acts. A person is charged with possession of child pornography when they knowingly view, possess, or control an image, video, or other presentation that shows a minor engaged in sexual activity.
Simple possession is a third-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison for each count, fines, and mandatory lifetime registration as a sex offender. Sharing child porn with another person upgrades the charge to a second-degree felony and carries more severe penalties. Production of child pornography carries the most severe penalties. It is a first-degree felony that can result in up to 30 years in prison for each count.
Courts in Florida have zero tolerance for sex offenses involving minors, and both state and federal law enforcement agents make an effort to ensure anyone suspected of or charged with a sex offense is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Sex crimes usually carry life-altering consequences, which is why it is important for anyone charged with a sex offense to hire an experienced attorney who can guide them through the criminal justice system and help them reach the best possible outcome.