40+ Child Porn Images Found On Lakeland Man's Work-Issued Laptop

LAKELAND, FL — A Lakeland man faces multiple child pornography charges after detectives found more than 40 child pornography images, and four homemade videos of child porn on his electronic devices, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.

Duane Andrew Franz, 47, a former employee of Duke Energy, is accused of storing pornographic images of children between the ages of 6 and 8t on a flash drive he had when he worked for the company. He was laid off from the Fort Meade plant in June 2019, and a staff member discovered the images on the device after he plugged it in, according to detectives.

Two victims who were seen on the videos were between the ages of 8 and 14 years old. The videos were taken from a hidden spot in a child's bedroom, authorities said.

“This suspect betrayed the trust of nearly everyone in his life to fuel his addiction to child pornography," Sheriff Grady Judd. "He even created his own child pornography by exploiting two children he had access to – and we will ensure those victims get the help they need to repair the damage he did. As we continue our investigation, we will file any additional and appropriate charges against Duane Franz, who should never again have access to children.”

Another former employer of Franz, Coca-Cola, issued a laptop and flash drive to Franz where police found inappropriate images of children.

A search warrant was served at Franz's home Friday, deputies said. Twenty flash drives, an Apple iPhone, a mini digital camera, an external hard drive, and a laptop computer was taken by law enforcement officials for forensic examination. If more child pornography is located on these devices, the suspect will face additional charges from the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Franz and his wife told officers he has a sex addiction, and has received counseling for it. He told authorities he looked at child pornography, but denied storing images and videos on his previous employers' devices and laptops.

Detectives said so far 45 images in combination with videos have been located on the devices from Duke and Coca-Cola.