Sebastian Police volunteer accused of possessing child pornography, faces 50 counts

SEBASTIAN, Fla. (CBS12) — The Sebastian Police Department (SPD) said a member of its volunteer program is accused of possession of child pornography and has been arrested following a tip.

Detectives from the SPD and the Indian River County Sheriff's Office (IRSCO) Special Victims Unit obtained a search warrant for Arnold Flannery Jr.'s home on Limerick Court, off Highway A1A, on Tuesday morning.

Following a search, detectives said they found multiple images of child pornography on Flannery's computer and hard drive.

"He was uploading and downloading. I can tell you it was very young children," said Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers. "Our detectives from the scene talked about images of children between 4 and 8 years old. I mean, just awful, awful things."

The SPD said Flannery was a member of its volunteer program since January 18, 2022. The purpose of the program was to provide residential security checks for the House Watch Program, traffic control assistance, funeral escorts, courier services, and assisting the city during events. Flannery volunteered with Traffic Control & Administrative Work and had no direct contact with children.

"The volunteers will, oftentimes, do house checks on people who are on vacation," said Sheriff Flowers. "It’s not really a role where we have anybody involved with kids."

It was learned that Flannery also volunteered with the IRSCO for about a year.

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"The safety and well-being of our community's children are of utmost importance," SPD Chief Daniel Acosta said. "The behavior alleged in this case is abhorrent and will not be tolerated by anyone, regardless of their position. Our thoughts are with the victims, and we are committed to ensuring justice."

The 75-year-old man was arrested and was originally booked into the Indian River County Jail on four counts of possession of child pornography. However, following more evidence the number is now 50 counts of possession of child pornography.

“It’s a crazy thing. You never know what people are doing behind closed doors," said Sheriff Flowers. "In this circumstance, we’ve got a really bad guy that’s off the streets today.”

Following the announcement of Flannery's arrest, the public was concerned over background checks conducted on law enforcement volunteers like Flannery.

"He did do a background check with our agency. He did do a background check with Sebastian Police Department, and nothing led us to believe this was something we can expect from this guy," said Sheriff Flowers.