BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — Two Hernando County men are facing jail time after being arrested for possession of child pornography, the sheriff's office said during a news conference Friday.
Sheriff Al Nienhus said Steven Sims, 48, and 42-year-old Jousha Blight of Brooksville had a combined total of 163 counts of possession of child pornography.
Sims was initially arrested on 10 counts of child porn, however, after a search through his electronic devices, the sheriff's office added an additional 90 counts, the sheriff said.
"Thinking about child pornography is repulsive, to say the least, and turns our stomachs," Nienhus said. "I don't think most people can imagine what detectives have to go through because we obviously have to look at it enough to validate that it is actually child pornography and there is actually a child involved.
"In at least one of the videos, I was told by my detectives that it was a child that was between 2-4 months old involved in one of the videos and another one the child was between 4-6 years old."
The sheriff said at least 153 different videos and/or still images were found on his devices. Nienhus said Sims is facing "significant" charges and jail time.
Back in March, the sheriff's office received a tip on Jousha Blight, the sheriff also said. On April 12, deputies conducted a search of Blight's home, and he was arrested on 10 counts of possession of child porn.
Nienhus said Blight is a registered sex offender without any special conditions.
He was first arrested when in 1998 in Illinois when he was 17 years old for aggravated criminal sexual abuse on a person who was 11 years old and who was a family friend, the sheriff said.
Blight was also convicted of kidnapping back in 2003 in Illinois. He served 54 months in state prison. He is facing charges that could keep him in jail for 156 years if convicted, Nienhus said.
It is unknown if any of the victims are local. The sheriff said if any citizens had any information about local victims to contact the sheriff's office.
Both men are in Hernando County Jail without bond.