DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Charges have been filed against a Daytona Beach hotel manager after the hotel was raided by the FBI Wednesday in connection with a child porn investigation, law enforcement officers said.
Investigators said the target of the investigation is 58-year-old Dennis Devlin, who runs the Desert Inn, which is owned by his mother. Investigators said Devlin was charged with two counts of sexual performance by a child and one count of principal to lewd and lascivious conduct with a child. Investigators and the state attorney's office completed charging affidavits Wednesday evening.
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Devlin lives at the Desert Inn on 900 North Atlantic Avenue (see map) , he works there, and police said he produces child porn there.
Officers also arrested 20-year-old Michael Ehman and charged him with performance of sexual act on a minor and lewd and lascivious conduct.
"A scumbag. I don't even have to think about that twice. He's a scumbag," Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood said. "The allegations that I can tell you, the allegations are disgusting and sickening."
FBI investigators carried boxes of evidence out of the Desert Inn, and guests, who were told to stay inside their rooms, watched as a major child pornography investigation unfolded right in front of them. The hotel was placed on lockdown during the raid.
"All they told us at first was just to stay in our rooms, they were doing an investigation. They wouldn't tell us; we seen it on TV," hotel guest Rob Raison said.
Police said it was a tip to the FBI in the last four to six weeks that led investigators to the hotel.
The FBI served search warrants and said they were hoping to find evidence of a crime involving at least one 13-year-old boy.
A law enforcement source told WFTV that they found video of the victim on it and dozens of additional tapes, possibly with new victims that they haven't had time to get into yet.
WFTV spoke with Delvin's mother and hotel owner, Irene Devlin.
"They came in, they seized the hotel. I was isolated from my employees. My employees were all over the hotel," said Irene Devlin.
It may go to federal charges police said, against Devlin, who is the hotel manager. Law enforcement sources said porn was being produced in the hotel, and may have been distributed across state lines, possibly on the Internet.
"It's disgusting and despicable what he's doing in my opinion, in this hotel. I think he uses this hotel as a front to perpetrate other crimes, other sex crimes that are occurring," said Chitwood.
Police said they expect the hotel to reopen when their investigation is complete, but no time frame was given. They also said it's possible the property could be seized if they can prove it was used in a crime.
"In my opinion, this has been going on for years and years and years and years and years, and last month it came to a head because somebody came forward," Chitwood said.
Delvin was convicted of paying a teen boy for sex and pictures 20 years ago, but the conviction was overturned when the boy went back on his story.
He was also arrested in 2004 after the city said he did nothing to stop nudity during a spring break wet T-shirt contest.
Devlin and the Desert Inn were recently in the news when TripAdvisor.com rated the hotel as the third-dirtiest in the U.S. Devlin then threatened to sue the company over the report.
The website based the results on user reviews posted on the site, but never inspected any of the hotels.
However, the hotel's owner told WFTV the hotel is clean.
WFTV
