A UF Health psychiatrist was arrested Wednesday on 10 counts of possessing child pornography and three counts of animal cruelty for possessing sexual images of dogs and horses.
Jesse Armstrong, 34, was arrested as the result of an investigation started in August. Microsoft submitted a tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reporting two images of child sexual abuse were uploaded to Bing images, an image search engine. The user who uploaded the images was unknown, and there was no further information linked to their account.
In September, Gainesville Police Department investigators ran a search on the attached IP address and found it was connected to a Gainesville address, according to the arrest report.
In October, internet provider records revealed the address was registered to Armstrong.
Further research found Armstrong was employed by UF Health as a doctor in the psychiatry department, according to the report.
In December, investigators executed a search warrant on Armstrong’s residence and made contact with him. According to the arrest report, Armstrong confirmed he was living alone since his wife and three children had moved to Tennessee, and no one else had access to his internet.
Armstrong told law enforcement he would reverse image search pornography at least three times a week but denied intentionally searching for child sexual abuse images.
Investigators seized several electronics from Armstrong’s house and found 10 images and videos of child sexual abuse. Additionally, they discovered three images of humans engaged in sexual activities with dogs and a horse, according to the arrest report.
Armstrong was arrested Wednesday on 13 felony counts including possessing child pornography and animal cruelty.
Contact Kaysheri Haffner at khaffner@alligator.org. Follow her on X @kaysheri_h.
Kaysheri Haffner is a second-year journalism major and the Criminal Justice reporter for the Alligator. When she's not on the clock, she can be found reading a book or working on a creative writing project.
