BSO court bailiff arrested on child porn charges

Brian Preston, 24, fails polygraph test which leads to arrest, police say

A Broward Sheriff's Office court bailiff is facing felony child porn charges after revealing disturbing secrets during a polygraph test last week, according to authorities.

Brian Preston, 24, was hoping to get a job with the U.S. Border Patrol in Sarasota last week, but while hooked up to a lie detector during an interview with the agency, he admitted a dark secret that, according to police reports, he'd never told anyone before.

At the age of 19, he secretly videotaped an unidentified boy, who was between 10 and 12 years old, with a web cam and iPhone while the boy was in bed and in the shower.

Preston then admitted that he'd kept five of those videos, two of which were on iPad that he had taken to the interview.

Preston turned those videos over -- one showing the boy masturbating, the other in the shower -- and was charged by the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office with two counts of possession of obscene material depicting children.

He later filled out a written statement detailing what he'd said during the polygraph, according to police reports, which also allege he admitted to viewing numerous images and videos of child pornography online while a teenager from 2003 to 2008.

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Courthouse blogger Bill Gelin questioned why BSO, which also routinely conducts polygraph tests on new hires, didn't catch Preston during its hiring process.

It's not known, however, if Preston was given a lie detector test when he was hired in June of last year.

"Why did the Border Patrol find this out so easily when BSO obviously couldn't detect it, and trusted him to be in this environment?" Gelin asked.

However, BSO did play a role in this investigation. Federal agents initially called deputies in Broward County and told detectives about the case. Deputies then called Sarasota deputies who arrested Preston.

Preston, who is scheduled to be arraigned at the beginning of next month, remains in jail on a $75,000 bond. He has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of a criminal case.

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About the Authors
Amanda Batchelor headshot

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.

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