An 18-month investigation into the uploading of child pornography has led to the arrest of a Miami man who was allegedly also messaging girls through social media, police said.
Junior Del Villar Hernandez, 39, was arrested Wednesday on 15 counts of possession of sexual performance by a child materials, Miami Police officials said.
The investigation began in September 2022 when 15 videos of child sexual abuse material were uploaded to a Gmail account, police said.
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The "extremely disturbing" videos showed sexual acts on children as young as 2, police said.
Detectives "chased many misleading leads" during the investigation but were able to identify Hernandez as the suspect, police said.
Investigators also learned he had been messaging underage females through social media, officials said.
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A search warrant was executed and police said they found thousands of images of child porn on Hernandez's phone.
"The initial 15 images that we sent out in the press release was just a small cache. Investigative methods just revealed that there was over 8,000 images on his cell phone alone," Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales said.
Hernandez was taken into custody before he was booked into jail.
The case was worked by Miami Police's Special Victims Unit's Internet Crimes Against Children detectives.
"It doesn't just stop at sharing all the images. We know that it leads to deeper, darker and more criminal things," Morales said. "In this particular case they've been chasing this individual, this pedophile, since 2022. They hit many roadblocks but they were determined to catch this guy and no challenge was insurmountable."
Hernandez rented space as a barber at a shop in Edgewater. He lives at a Miami apartment where neighbors didn't seem shocked by the allegations.
"It was crazy because I was talking about him earlier because I have coworker that lives there as well, he says he's really creepy," one woman said.
Police said they're still searching for possible victims.
"The Miami Police Department takes any crime against infants/children seriously and will work tirelessly to identify and bring to justice those who engage in such acts against the innocent and helpless children," officials said in a news release. "Therefore, if you believe you were a victim targeted by Hernandez, we urge you to come forward."
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Miami Police Department’s Special Victims Unit at 305-603-6300.
