Polk County man faces 100 child pornography charges after being caught taking photo of girl at Target, deputies say

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Polk County man faces 100 child pornography charges after he was caught taking a photo of a 12-year-old girl at a Target, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Polk.

Daniel Mora, 27, allegedly took the photo May 10 at Target on Rolling Oaks Boulevard in Kissimmee while the child was tying his shoe, officials said. The child noticed a flash behind her and saw a stranger, presumably Mora, quickly walking away.

On May 16, deputies returned to the same Target after learning Mora had returned to the store. A deputy confronted Mora and asked if he knew why he was there, to which Mora responded “because he was sick and he was taking pictures of girls,” according to an arrest report.

Mora allegedly admitted to taking the photo of the 12-year-old on May 10, and also said he took the photos “for fun” and that “he was embarrassed to talk about it,” according to the report.

Mora gave the deputy permission to search his phone, where the deputy found several videos of him filming young girls in stores. Mora said he didn’t remember taking photos anywhere other than that target location.

“Mr. Mora stated that he was embarrassed and stated that he had been a victim of child abuse when he was younger,” the arrest report states. “He stated that he had never committed direct offense against a minor He stated that he does not know how to talk to girls his age, so he talks to younger girls because it is easier to talk to them. He stated that he. had never chatted with younger girls online, but had interacted with younger girls in public He said that because he was abused as a child, his “hormones are triggered.” strange times.” He said he understood the difference between right and wrong and took responsibility for it.

Mora told the deputy there would be “illegal content” on his phone and said there was also a blue USB drive at his home in Polk County, where he lived with his father, that contained illegal content. child pornography, according to the arrest report.

Deputies searched the Poinciana area home Friday. Mora’s father was unaware of the child pornography, according to the report. Detectives found the blue USB drive, which contained 100 images and videos depicting child sexual abuse, as well as a selfie of Mora and a photo of his Social Security card.

At least one of the videos showed a child younger than 5, deputies said.

In Mora’s bedroom, detectives also found a “childish” sex doll.

Mora was charged with 100 counts of enhanced possession of child pornography and one count of possession of obscene material.