TAVARES, Florida—A former Lake EMS EMT who was arrested by Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents in June for four counts of possessing child pornography and four counts of transmitting child pornography is now facing a total of 17 felony charges.
Acting on a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), FDLE agents met James Bryan Hamrick, 30, in his Eustis driveway the morning of June 11 and took possession of his phone after obtaining a search warrant, according to an affidavit.
NCMEC’s CyberTipline Report included copies of the four videos Hamrick is accused of direct messaging (DM) on his Twitter account. The videos depict male and female children as young as 2, performing sex acts; the details of the abuse are too graphic for publication. FDLE also received copies of Hamrick’s DMs and in those DMs, he indicates his interest in child pornography, according to the affidavit.
When questioned by an FDLE agent, Hamrick admitted to downloading the kiddie porn from Kik (a messaging app) and participating in Twitter direct messages with the account “Pedo Chic.” He also admitted taking part in conversations about sexual activity with minors, but claimed, “it was for fantasy purposes only and he never touched a child inappropriately,” the affidavit states.
Hamrick, who worked at EMS for a little over a year, also engaged in a DM conversation with an account named “Mistress.” “Mistress” agrees to engage in a sexual conversation with Hamrick if he buys a $50 gift card and screenshots a copy of the receipt. Hamrick sent “Mistress” the screenshot of a receipt from his own PayPal account, according to the affidavit.
While exchanging DMs with “Mistress” Hamrick tells her to be patient with his slow responses because he is feeding an infant child. He then sends “Mistress” a photo of him holding an infant.
Hamrick, who was fired as soon as Lake EMS was informed of his arrest, has been held in the Lake County Jail since his arrest on $80,000 bond. Hamrick is represented by Assistant Public Defender Wanda T. Greene, who filed a motion in July requesting Hamrick be released on his own recognizance due to the state not filing charges. Later that same day, that state formally filed 17 charges.
Hamrick’s next plea negotiation conference is scheduled for Nov. 9.
