Man charged with child pornography
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a report of child sexual abuse material on June 8 and referred it to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators established probable cause for a search warrant at a home on Eastwood Trail in Brooksville, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies served the warrant June 16 and spoke with Joseph Michael Crandley, 47.
Crandley acknowledged owning the social media account and its identifiers, which contained child sexual abuse material, the sheriff’s office said. He told deputies he no longer had access because the account had been banned for violating the platform’s terms of use.
A review of Crandley’s phone at the scene turned up one such file in his recently deleted photos, deputies said.
Crandley was arrested and taken to the Hernando County Detention Center on one count of possession of child pornography and unlawful use of a two-way communications device. He was being held on $5,000 bond.
Spring Hill man charged in child sexual abuse case
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a report of child sexual abuse material on Jan. 18 and referred it to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators established probable cause for a search warrant at a home on Ryan Street in Spring Hill, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies served the warrant June 19 and spoke with Jason Edward Frank, 54.
Frank acknowledged owning the account identifiers, which were tied to an account containing child sexual abuse material, the sheriff’s office said. He told deputies he no longer had access because the account had been banned.
A review of Frank’s digital devices revealed six files of child sexual abuse material, deputies said.
Frank was arrested and taken to the Hernando County Detention Center on six counts of possession of child pornography and unlawful use of a two-way communications device. He was being held on $5,000 bond.
HT-FRANK1-07082026 -- Jason Edward Frank, 54
Search tied to serial killer’s statements ends without findings
BROOKSVILLE — A two-day search that included a cadaver dog turned up nothing significant in wooded areas near Dry Creek Ranch Road and Sunshine Grove Road, and along Citrus Way north of Fort Dade Avenue, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said.
The search stemmed from statements by convicted serial killer Billy Mansfield Jr. and was carried out by the sheriff’s office with the FBI, the State Attorney’s Office and Florida Gulf Coast University, according to the sheriff’s office. No further searches are planned.
Sheriff’s roundup
The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office reported the following incidents:
Homicide, District 3/Zone 1: Deputies responding to a request to assist another agency at a home found a man who had been struck in the neck with an arrow, the sheriff’s office said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A man at the scene was detained and taken to jail.
Obstruction and resisting, District 3/Zone 1: During the homicide investigation above, a man repeatedly crossed crime scene tape to reach his camper despite warnings, the sheriff’s office said. When deputies confronted him at his door, he became hostile and confrontational. Deputies fired nonlethal rounds and took him into custody.
Resisting an officer with violence, District 3/Zone 2: Deputies called to a home about a man in a mental health crisis who was threatening self-harm said he became combative when they arrived and tried to reach a rifle rack inside, the sheriff’s office said. As deputies worked to place him in a protective hold, he assaulted two of them. He was detained and taken to jail.