A Groveland man was sentenced to 16 years in prison on Thursday for child pornography found on his electronic devices in 2024.
Xavier Mendez, 41, was sentenced after being found guilty by a jury last month of 12 counts of possession of child pornography. Upon his release, Mendez will be required to register as a sexual offender and complete four years of probation.
In July 2024, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children indicating an online user had uploaded files containing possible child pornography.
FDLE Special Agent Marsian investigated the lead and learned that a Kik user had used the platform to share digital files depicting the sexual exploitation of a child. During the investigation, SA Marsian determined that the account belonged to Mendez, who resided at an address off Prairie Falcon Drive in Groveland.
The investigation was turned over to the Groveland Police Department, where it was assigned to Detective Stellinga. After reviewing the report, a search warrant was issued for Mendez’s residence, where officials seized numerous electronic devices as evidence.
A digital forensics examination of the devices collected from Mendez revealed multiple files of child sexual abuse material. An arrest warrant was issued for Mendez, who was subsequently taken into custody shortly after.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Tyler Duffy and Devon Razey.