Central Florida cemetery worker arrested for possession of child sex abuse images on his phone

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A Winter Park man was arrested Monday, accused of being in possession of dozens files showing the sexual abuse of children.

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According to an incident report, the investigation began on Feb. 6 when a detective with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office Crimes Against Children unit received a Cyber Tipline report from the National Center for Missing an Exploited Children.

According to the NCMEC report, Microsoft Bing Images filed a report that presumed child pornography had been uploaded to their service on Oct. 12, 2023. They also provided a copy of the image and the IP address for a possible suspect.

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Investigators drafted a subpoena requesting subscriber information for the person associated with the IP address. The subpoena was returned with an address on Barbados Drive in Winter Park.

On Monday, detectives with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office Crimes Against Children Unit executed a search warrant at the home and made contact with their suspect, identified as 65-year-old John Lotti.

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Deputies say they seized multiple electronic devices from the home, specifically an iPhone 14 that was later analyzed by the sheriff’s office Digital Forensics Unit.

According to the sheriff’s office, detectives found at least 30 images that showed children under the age of 18 either exposing themselves in a “lewd manner” or actively engaged in sexual activity.

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Lotti, whose place of employment was listed as a cemetery in Orlando, was arrested and charged with 30 counts of possession of child pornography, a third-degree felony.

He’s being held in the Seminole County Jail on $200,000 bond.

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