A 30-year-old Florida man, Jared Follin, had to turn his own father after he discovered what many would consider the worst thing someone can have in his possession. His father, Gene Follin, 63, allegedly had child pornography on his phone. Gene now faces 20 felony charges, each of which could send him up to 15 years in prison.
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According to the Daily Mail, Jared Follin made the revolting discovery back in 2024. Back then, Jared attempted to help his father access his disabled email account. An affidavit revealed that Google flagged his Gmail account after he uploaded the aforementioned illicit images of children to Google Photos.
Once Jared discovered the photos, he immediately contacted the police. The New York Post reports that Jared informed the police on September 10, 2024. On October 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tipped the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office about a Google Account that had been flagged for storing child pornography images.
Revolting Discovery
Eventually, the Kenneth City Police Department learned about the flag. They obtained a subpoena that had them access the IP address of the account. This confirmed that it belonged to Gene Follin. They obtained a search warrant for the account.
This led to Gene's arrest on Tuesday, January 28. The affidavit reveals that, during police questioning, Genne Follin admitted to "saving child pornography." After the search, authorities found 952 files of child pornography and erotica. Disgustingly, police found that some of the pictures showed young girls ages 5 to 8.
Gene Follin was charged with 20 counts of possession of child pornography. Should he be found guilty of all counts, he could be sentenced to up to 300 years in prison. He was booked and held on a $100,000 bond but was released after posting it on Thursday, January 30.
According to a GoFundMe campaign set up in 2017 after he suffered a heart attack, Gene is a father of three and a grandfather of three. Furthermore, he is described as "loyal, loving, compassionate, dependable, and kind."
"He is always there to make you smile and let you know that life is much more than the malarkey we each face every day," the GoFundMe reads.
