Jason Arthur Palermo. {BSO}
By Ryan Yousefi
A man faces 14 separate charges of trafficking in child pornography and sending nude photos to a minor after a tip from Facebook revealed his online criminal activity.
In March of 2023, records show the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) about a Margate resident allegedly sharing child pornography online. As a result of the information, a case was assigned to the Margate Police ICAC unit.
According to the arrest report, Facebook initially generated the tip in February after a user of its Messenger app violated the platform’s terms of use by uploading images of child pornography.
In response to the violations, Facebook reported the user, later identified as Jason Arthur Palermo, 41, of Margate, to law enforcement and provided investigators with evidence that Palmero had repeatedly uploaded videos depicting child pornography via the Messenger app.
As the Margate ICAC unit investigated the claim further, it was revealed the residence assigned to that specific IP address was located near the 5300 block of Northwest 31st Street, which would later lead to identifying Palemero as the alleged suspect.
With digital evidence of a potentially serious crime in hand, investigators were granted a search warrant for the contents of Palermo’s Facebook account, and upon a deeper review, discovered additional files that were sent during a chat in Facebook Messenger with a Facebook user who identified themself as a 12-year-old male.
The messages were reportedly sexual amongst both users, and the child pornography used as evidence in the case, along with two additional video files, was sent by Palmero to the underaged user and, subsequently, the victim.
On June 9, members of the Margate Police Department and the South Florida ICAC executed a search warrant at Palermo’s home. According to the arrest report, Palermo admitted to officers that he had sent the files.
In addition to his admission of trafficking in child pornography, Palmero also admitted to sending photographs of his penis to the underage victim.
Palmero alleged to officers that when he chatted with the victim, he believed the person he was talking to was 13.
During the search of Palmero’s devices, records show he was found to be in possession of at least ten images and files that would be considered child pornography, including videos depicting male children between the ages of 8-14 engaged in sexual acts with other children and adults.
Palermo was arrested and transported to the Broward County Main Jail. He was later released after posting a $90,000 bond.
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