Pinellas detention deputy who resigned faces additional child pornography charges

A former Pinellas Sheriff’s Office detention deputy who was arrested in that county on child pornography charges earlier this month now faces additional charges in Hillsborough County after investigators there found more pornographic material, officials said.

On July 1, Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office detectives obtained a search warrant for a home in Lutz for former detention deputy Trevor Scott Willis, 33, after receiving a tip from Pinellas officials, according to a news release.

Willis had been arrested in Pinellas that day on 10 counts of child pornography possession, 10 counts of transmitting child pornography and two counts of sexual activity involving animals, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

After an investigation, detectives found further pornographic material on a social media application linked to Willis, Hillsborough investigators said.

Willis faces nine counts of possessing child pornography in Hillsborough, according to court records

The material that resulted in the Pinellas charges included videos of children between 5 and 15 years old. There were also videos showing a child engaging in sexual activities with a dog, deputies said.

Investigators learned that Willis used his personal cellphone to view the videos while on duty and logged into the sheriff’s office Wi-Fi. When interviewed by detectives, Willis admitted to viewing the videos, according to deputies.

He resigned from his position that same day, according to the news release. He joined the sheriff’s office in 2016.

Willis was released from Pinellas County Jail on July 2 on $220,000 bond. A judge ordered him to wear a GPS monitor, not to access the internet and to have no contact with children, records show.

An assistant public defender was appointed to represent him and entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

Willis was arrested on the Hillsborough charges Thursday morning. Bond was set at $22,500. Willis posted that and was released that morning, records show.

“These vile actions have no place in our community, and the betrayal of trust by someone who swore to protect and serve is deeply disturbing,” Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a news release.