SHALIMAR (FL)
WTVY [Dothan, AL]
January 10, 2025
By Ty Storey
A church leader in Okaloosa County, Florida has been arrested and is facing several counts of possession of child pornography after a months-long investigation.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a tip back in May 2024 from Microsoft about sexual images believed to contain children being uploaded online by a Bing Image Search user. The NCMEC passed this tip along to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, who shortly thereafter began their investigation.
Information obtained from the tip and other findings ultimately led law enforcement to a home on 8th Street in Shalimar, owned by 64-year-old Frank Gough II. Gough has served since 2010 as Friar of Resurrection Anglican Church, also in Shalimar.
A multi-agency search warrant was conducted on Thursday, January 9, at Gough’s home by units from Internet Crimes Against Children, the OCSO Drug Task Force, and Homeland Security Investigation. During the search, law enforcement located and seized multiple computer storage devices found in a desk drawer in Gough’s bedroom, according to the arrest report.
Forensic analysis of those devices found them to hold more than 100 files of child porn, “including video of a young female who appears to be between three and five years old.”
According to the arrest report, while Gough admitted to having had a problem with looking at obscene materials during an interview with investigators, including those involving minors, he claimed he did not view any pornography involving children under 14 years old.
Gough was arrested following the search and was charged with 30 counts of possession of child pornography.