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Edgewater man arrested on 11 child porn charges, deputies say

An Edgewater man was in custody Friday after his arrest on 11 counts of possession of child pornography, Volusia County sheriff detectives said.
Detectives said they are continuing the investigation in the hope of identifying any of the victims.  
Erik Thomas Deemer, 38, was arrested Thursday evening at his home on Willow Oak Drive in Edgewater. The Sheriff’s Office Child Exploitation Unit had been investigating Deemer since October after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Detectives discovered numerous pornographic images and videos in Deemer’s possession that depicted male and female children who generally appeared to be between the ages of 4 and 9, investigators said. In one of the images, a child was bound by rope and tape, detectives said. In others, children appearing to be 7 to 9 years old were wearing diapers; one older child appeared to be using a pacifier.
Police said during an interview with Deemer, he first denied having the Internet when investigators came to the home he shares with his wife. He later admitted to seeing the child porn and said he started looking at similar images when he was 15 years old, investigators said.
Detectives determined that Deemer was in the process of attempting to adopt a child. That process has been halted.
Deemer told investigators during questioning that he kept his garage door open when children visited, deputies said.

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — "That's something that really alarmed the investigators to hear that. You know, here's a guy that is acting out his fetishes that he has," Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said.

So far, the investigation has not led detectives to identify any local child victims. But anyone who has information that may identify a potential victim is asked to contact the VCSO Child Exploitation Unit at 386-254-1537.
"My prayers are that nobody has been exploited, that he just kept himself to viewing instead of trying to act that out," Chitwood said.
Deemer was being held on $165,000 bail Friday at the Volusia County Branch Jail.

Deemer is the third child porn suspect to be arrested in about a month due to tips called into the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Watch below: Volusia County Sheriff discusses arrest of Deemer.