- May 5, 2024
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A Palm Coast man was arrested after investigators found 119 images of child pornography saved on his computer, including at least one that he posted online.
Justin Brannick, 30, was arrested on a warrant Wednesday, after investigators found the images on his computer by forensic analysis. He was charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography for the images, one of which he posted to Tumblr.com in February, according to his arrest warrant.
A special agent contacted Brannick at his residence on Roxland Lane on May 14 about an investigation into child pornography. Brannick told the agent that he did not have a Tumblr account, although he was familiar with the website.
Brannick told the special agent that there were no computers inside the residence, and that, since it was not his home, he could not grant permission for the agent to search the home. The agent later contacted the homeowner, who said that there were three computers inside the home. Brannick had frequent access to a laptop in the home, the homeowner said.
The computer’s owner gave the special agent written consent to conduct a forensic analysis on the computer. When the agent returned to the residence on Roxland Lane to retrieve it, Brannick said he had reinstalled the computer’s operating system the night before because it had contracted a virus.
Reinstalling a computer’s operating system moves files on a computer from an allocated to an unallocated space on the computer’s hard drive — meaning that they would possibly still be in the system, though hidden.
Upon conducting the forensic analysis of the laptop, the special agent discovered the photos. The special agent also learned that the computer’s operating system had been reinstalled about one hour after Brannick had first been told about the investigation, not the night previously, as Brannick had said.
A judge signed Brannick’s arrest warrant Wednesday, and he was arrested that afternoon. Brannick was transported to the Flagler County Inmate Facility, where he remained Thursday on $15,000 bond.
