Cedar Rapids man held on child pornography charges in Florida

A Cedar Rapids man sought on federal child pornography charges has been located in Florida.

Charles Andrew Williams, 41, has been held without bail at the Santa Rosa County Jail in Pace, Fla., a suburb of Pensacola, since his arrest in Pace Oct. 20, according to court documents.

Williams left the area after police executed a state search warrant Oct. 1 at his home at 411 24th St. NE, according to an affidavit filed by Marion Police Detective Lance Miller. When Miller returned to Williams' home Oct. 15, his wife said Williams had gone to Florida “and she was concerned he might try to flee the United States.”

A federal criminal complaint charging Williams with possession of child pornography was issued Oct. 16. Acting on a tip, U.S. Marshals and local police found Williams at a relative's home in Pace, and he was arrested without incident.

Miller happened across Williams in late September while investigating child pornography on an Internet file-sharing network, according to the affidavit. Using the Internet address attached to some pornographic images, Miller tracked the activity to Williams' home computer.

Williams told Miller he worked from his home servicing computer servers.

During the Oct. 1 search, several pornographic images were downloaded from computers at Williams' home, according to the affidavit. Questioned by Miller, Williams said he'd been involved with child pornography “a long time” but had “never physically touched a child.”