SPRING HILL, Fla. — What started out as a friendly prank led to the arrest of a Spring Hill man on child pornography charges, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office said.
The investigation began Tuesday, when deputies said they were called about "obscene material" found on a cell phone. Deputies said the caller told them his friend and former co-worker, Jody Fletcher, had come over to his home for a visit.
When Fletcher left, the man reportedly told deputies that Fletcher had left his phone behind. Deputies said the man decided to play a joke on Fletcher by taking a picture of himself on Fletcher's phone and making it the device's wallpaper.
The phone, according to the sheriff's office, was not protected by a PIN or passcode, allowing the man easy access to it.
Once he took the photo and tried to change the wallpaper on Fletcher's phone, he found "numerous" images of child pornography. He then "immediately" called the sheriff's office, according to a release.
Detectives said after getting a search warrant for the phone, they found about 74 images of child porn on the device. The sheriff's office said they then got search and arrest warrants for Fletcher.
On Wednesday, detectives arrested him and found three computers at his home. The sheriff's office said Fletcher declined to speak with detectives about the case.
He later bonded out of jail that same day. He faces charges including possession of obscene material (10 or more child pornography images) and use of a two-way device to facilitate a felony.