St. Cloud father and son sexually abused neighborhood kids, created child pornography
By Bob Hazen
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ST. CLOUD, Florida (WESH) — Starting on Tuesday morning, law enforcement swarmed a home in a St. Cloud neighborhood just east of Canoe Creek Road.
A man who neighbors say was known as “Santa” was arrested in a Homeland Security raid as part of a child pornography investigation.
Neighbors told WESH 2 they saw up to 30 law enforcement officers from multiple agencies swarm a house on Countryside View Drive around 10 a.m. on Tuesday. At the time, officials would not confirm the nature of the raid.
Neighbors say they saw a body being removed from the house and the Orange County Medical Examiner confirmed to WESH 2 that they responded to a “death call” at the home.
Records filed in federal court show the target was 79-year-old James Cox and another man in the home, Henry Cox, who neighbors told WESH 2 is the elder Cox’s son.
James Cox is in the Seminole County jail. St. Cloud police say Henry Cox was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in the home on Tuesday.
A criminal complaint against James Cox says the investigation began with a cyber-tip about child pornography being uploaded from the family’s home. It says St. Cloud police searched the house in January and found several hard drives with images and videos of children being sexually abused and exploited.
Detectives say they also found videos that appear to have been recorded secretly that showed young children using the bathroom and changing clothes. At least two of the victims appear to be kids who live in the same neighborhood as Cox.
The complaint alleges Henry Cox produced some of the pornography, while the elder Cox uploaded it.
“You just don’t think it’s going to be so close to your house, and having four girls myself, it’s a little unsettling,” Emily Jenkins, who lives nearby, said. “I think it confirms that we can’t be restful and let our kids play outside. It’s always play in the backyard now. It’s not like it used to be.”
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