A former Lake County EMS dispatcher has been found guilty on multiple charges of child pornography.
John Tharan Knotts, 36, of Leesburg, was found guilty this week in Lake County Court on 19 felony counts of possession of child pornography.
Knotts was arrested in 2022 following a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation after officials received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children indicating an online user had uploaded files containing child sexual abuse material.
While investigating the tip, FDLE Agent Torres obtained an IP address from the account used to upload and distribute the illicit material. After issuing an investigative subpoena to the internet servicer, Agent Torres learned the account owner was Knotts, with a registered address off Barksdale Drive in Leesburg.
Officials responded to Knotts’ residence, where they seized various electronic devices for forensic examination. After locating numerous files of child pornography, an arrest warrant was issued for Knotts, who was incarcerated at the time on other child pornography charges.
He was previously sentenced to five years in prison in the earlier case.