FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. — A Nassau County man has been sentenced to more than a year in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing sexual videos and pictures of children.
Court documents show 20-year-old Tyler Cope was sentenced to 18 months in prison Thursday, followed by 5 years of sex offender probation.
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The investigation into Cope first began in August 2023 following a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
The arrest warrant affidavit from the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office shows a search warrant was conducted at his Fernandina Beach family home on Grove Park Circle on September 8th, 2023.
Read: 10 people arrested in Nassau County child sex abuse sting operation, including an elected official
At the time, deputies said they located the videos and photos on Cope’s cellphone, which Cope said had been downloaded through the Telegram messaging app.
At least two of the observed videos featured acts of bestiality, including with a dog, according to the affidavit.
He was arrested and charged on April 12th, 2024.
Cope was initially charged with 10 counts of possessing child sexual abuse material. As part of the plea agreement, however, five of the charges were dropped.
Read: Putnam County Sheriff’s Office: ‘Cesspool of sex offenders’ cleared out of local trailer park
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