Gainesville Police arrested a UF Ph.D. student Tuesday morning after officers reported he accessed child pornography on his laptop.
Officers arrested 26-year-old Abdulaziz Mohail Alshehri on three counts of promoting a photo/movie of a sexual performance by a child, according to an arrest report.
In early November, Alshehri used the file-sharing program BitComet 1.3 to access child porn on the BitTorrent network and offered the files to be downloaded by others.
Law enforcement downloaded the files and found the IP address was leased by Cox Communications, according to the report. A Cox subpoena identified Alshehri as the account holder.
A search of Alshehri’s room in Ridgemar Commons Apartments, located at 3611 SW 34th St., revealed he lived alone and possessed a secure Wi-Fi router, according to the report. When forensic specialists searched Alshehri’s laptop at his apartment, they found several torrents with titles suggesting child pornography.
During questioning, Alshehri confirmed the Sony laptop was his. He also admitted to using BitComet and to watching child pornography on his laptop, according to the report.
Officers booked Alshehri into the Alachua County Jail at about 11:40 a.m. Tuesday, where he remained as of press time. His bond has not been set yet.
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 2/19/2014 under the headline "UF student jailed in child porn discovery"]
