Publisher’s note: There was a discrepancy between this article and online Lake County Jail records regarding Cole Singer’s bond and the number of charges he is facing. This article has been updated to include an explanation from Tavares Police Department.
TAVARES, Fla.—The 21-year-old son of a Tavares city councilman was arrested on a warrant for two dozen counts related to child pornography during a search warrant at the home they share Monday.
Arrest warrant in hand, Tavares Police Department executed the search warrant at the home of Cole Singer, who lives with his parents in Tavares, after a TPD investigation uncovered Singer had allegedly possessed and transmitted multiple child pornography images between December 28, 2024, and Feb. 10, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Cole Singer’s father is Troy Singer, a Tavares city councilman who has served on the council since he was appointed in 2016, and was subsequently reelected in 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2023. In addition to council member, he has also served as vice-mayor and mayor, said Mark O’Keefe, Support Services director for the City of Tavares.
“The City is aware of the recent arrest involving the adult child of one of the City councilmembers,” O’Keefe told Inside Lake in an email. “Where this matter is a personal matter and does not involve the councilmember in their official capacity, It does not pertain to City business or operations. The City respects the legal process and understands that all individuals are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
“The City remains focused on serving the public with professionalism and integrity,” O’Keefe said.
Acting on a tip submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC,) TPD began investigating the case in February. X Corp., formerly known as Twitter, turned over two files with the tip, one that included a video depicting a prepubescent juvenile male, less than 8 years old, performing a sex act on an adult male.
Through investigative subpoenas to multiple social media and email platforms, TPD uncovered 14 instances of Cole Singer allegedly possessing child pornography and 10 instances where he allegedly transmitted it. In one chat thread, after sending links to now-deleted accounts, Cole Singer reportedly states, “im (sic) nervous I’ve never done this before haha.” Cole Singer is also facing a single count of unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
Police also found videos and photos of prepubescent males taken out in public by another user and Cole Singer, and the pair would exchange the photos with each other, according to the affidavit. One video, sent by Cole Singer, depicted a young, juvenile male washing his hands in a bathroom. The child appears to be unaware he is being recorded, the affidavit states.
A warrant was issued for Cole Singer’s arrest, and he was taken into custody Monday morning during the search warrant at his home. He was transported to the Lake County Jail, where he was released on $50,000 bond.
After community members flooded social media Tuesday night and questioned a discrepancy between this article and online Lake County Jail records regarding Cole Singer’s bond and the number of charges he is facing, Inside Lake asked TPD for an explanation.
“There was a mistake on the original warrant where a total of 49 counts were listed. There was an amended warrant made to correct it to the current 25 counts,” TPD said. “The jail kept the 49 counts on its website, with a $0 bond for the counts that are not being charged. This was confirmed by the detective who also ensured the jail was aware.”
