Florida officials announced Monday the takedown of an international child pornography ring, resulting in charges against eight individuals, including seven Florida residents and a foreign national accused of leading the operation.
The investigation, led by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the Office of Statewide Prosecution, uncovered a large-scale criminal enterprise responsible for distributing and profiting from the abuse and exploitation of children, including infants.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier held a press conference to announce the charges and called the case one of the most disturbing his office has encountered.
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“Busting an international child pornography ring. We will be bringing charges against eight individuals this morning, seven of whom are Florida residents,” Uthmeier said.
“As a dad of three little ones, it’s tough to talk about some of this stuff, but what these guys were doing was truly heinous. There’s not a word in the English dictionary that can describe the gross content that was on the videos.”
Investigators recovered more than one million videos and images depicting the sexual abuse of minors. According to Uthmeier, many of the victims were babies being exploited and sold globally.
The operation reportedly functioned through a sophisticated network involving dark web access and financial laundering schemes.
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Authorities identified Turkish national Emre Bozuyuk as the alleged ringleader.
Bozuyuk is accused of managing the network from overseas while using compromised financial accounts to facilitate transactions.
Arrest warrants were issued for Bozuyuk and an associate, Xiomara Del Real Maqueda, in Oregon.
According to law enforcement, several buyers discovered the material through social media platforms, including TikTok.
“The individuals that are being busted today, that purchased this harmful content—many of them found it through TikTok. It was available online. They found access to a portal where they could purchase this dangerous material,” Uthmeier said.
He added that platforms like TikTok have demonstrated the ability to remove unauthorized content quickly but have been slow to act when it comes to dangerous or illegal material.
“TikTok has shown they can very quickly get stuff off their website. If there’s unlicensed music or something going around, they’ve proven—with the flip of a switch—they can get it off. And it’s taken too long for them to get some of this pornographic material and avenues to purchase harder, more gross content,” he said.
The eight defendants charged in the case face multiple felony counts, including violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, money laundering, and purchasing child pornography.
Those charged include:
- Krunal Kumar Nareshbhai Modi (New Jersey): RICO, conspiracy to commit RICO, and money laundering.
- Frankie Piniero, Jr. (Groveland, FL): conspiracy to commit RICO, purchase of child pornography, and use of a two-way communication device to commit a felony.
- Brett Ryan Moore (Orange City, FL): conspiracy to commit RICO, purchase of child pornography, and use of a two-way communication device to commit a felony.
- Israel Cole Thompson (Lakeland, FL): conspiracy to commit RICO, purchase of child pornography, and use of a two-way communication device to commit a felony.
- Brett Allen Snodderly (Clearwater, FL): conspiracy to commit RICO, purchase of child pornography, and use of a two-way communication device to commit a felony.
- Jacob Ross Conly (Fern Park, FL): conspiracy to commit RICO, purchase of child pornography, and use of a two-way communication device to commit a felony.
- Kody Vance Jordan Muti (Palm Bay, FL): conspiracy to commit RICO, purchase of child pornography, and use of a two-way communication device to commit a felony.
- Michael Andrew Warren (Kissimmee, FL): conspiracy to commit RICO, purchase of child pornography, and use of a two-way communication device to commit a felony.
In addition to the Florida arrests, Bozuyuk faces multiple counts of promotion of sexual performance by a child, selling and distributing child pornography, out-of-state transmission of illicit material, and use of electronic devices to commit felonies.
Maqueda is charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Attorney General Uthmeier emphasized that protecting children will remain a top priority for his office.
“If you are a child predator, if you are one of these sick people, then I hope you never see the sun again, and I hope you certainly never have access to kids again,” he said.
WATCH:
🚨 #BREAKING: Florida just busted an *MASSIVE* INTERNATIONAL child p*rnagraphy ring with over 1M videos involved… including babies.
“If you are a child predator, if you are one of these sick people, then I hope you NEVER SEE THE SUN AGAIN.” – FLORIDA AG
This is sick.
“Over a… pic.twitter.com/KfO78xY0nj
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 7, 2025
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