Lakeland Police charged a Valrico man with 100 counts of possession of child pornography following an investigation of child porn images found on his work computer.
- Investigation into George Tay, 55, began in April 2017
- IT manager found child porn on Tay's computer while troubleshooting
- Tay Baker Acted in April by Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
Officials said an investigation into George Tay, 55, began in April. An employee of Lakeland company BrightVolt, Tay's work computer was turned over to Lakeland detectives on April 19 after the company IT manager found images of child pornography on it while troubleshooting technical difficulties.
According to detectives, that same day Tay returned to his home in Valrico and left a note for his wife saying he was sorry. After reading the note, the wife contacted the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and filed a Missing and Endangered Adult report.
Later that afternoon, Tay purchased a shotgun, according to online bank statements. When Hillsborough deputies learned the next day that Tay had returned home, they took him into custody under the Baker Act law.
BrightVolt terminated Tay on April 20 and has complied with the forensic investigation of Tay's computer, according to Lakeland detectives. During that investigation, at least 100 images of child pornography were identified. Some of the images, according to detectives, are of children being sexually battered by adults.
One image reportedly is of a child under the age of 5.
Lakeland Police detectives concluded their investigation on July 8 and, based on the evidence, charged Tay with 100 counts of possession of child pornography. Tay is currently still in the custody of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, and will reportedly be returned to Polk County at a later date.