FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Federal agents caught a man facing two child sex crime charges in Ohio with child sexual abuse material on his phone after he disembarked a Disney cruise ship at Port Everglades, authorities said.
Dakota Anthony Ferguson, 22, of Columbus, Ohio, appeared in Fort Lauderdale federal court on Monday on charges of transportation and possession of child pornography. Authorities arrested him after a border search of his cellphone after he got off the Disney Magic on Saturday, a federal criminal complaint obtained on Tuesday states.
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Franklin County, Ohio court records obtained by Local 10 News show that Ferguson is facing two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor after being arrested by the Columbus Police Department. According to those records, Ferguson was indicted in that case in September 2022.
In the latest case, court documents state that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials conducted a secondary examination on Ferguson and found “numerous videos” of child sexual abuse material on his cellphone, “the majority of which” depicted prepubescent girls being raped or otherwise sexually abused.
Authorities said Ferguson admitted that he began looking at child sexual abuse material three years ago and has viewed and shared it on platforms including messaging app Telegram and social media outlet X, formerly known as Twitter. Agents allege that he’s purchased videos depicting victims as young as 2.
In one instance, federal authorities said Ferguson sent a video to a Telegram user with a caption implying that the footage showed him raping a family member.
Ferguson “denied producing this video, stating his only intent was to give the perception of production,” Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Katherine Leonard wrote in the criminal complaint.
Ferguson’s Ohio indictment shows that he’s accused of engaging in “sexual conduct” with a victim between the ages of 13 and 15 in 2021, when he was 19. Records show he has pleaded not guilty in the case.
Local 10 News has contacted Disney Cruise Line inquiring about its background check procedures for passengers.
Ferguson remained held in the Broward Main Jail as of Tuesday; he’s scheduled to appear again in front of a Fort Lauderdale federal judge for a bond hearing next Monday.