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Cybercrime Unit Arrests Largo Man On Child Porn Charges

News Channel 8 photo by PETER BERNARD

Michael Dube of Largo is arrested by Child Predator Cybercrime Unit on a charge of transmitting child porn over the Internet.

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By PETER BERNARD

News Channel 8

Published: January 16, 2009

A 52-year-old man faces child pornography charges after being arrested early this morning at his Largo apartment complex.

Michael Dube is charged with three counts of transmission of child pornography and one count of possession. He is accused of trading child pornography using Internet chat rooms.

Dube's arrest at the Farrington Apartment Complex off Roosevelt Boulevard came after an eight-month investigation coordinated by the Florida Attorney General's Child Predator Cybercrime Task Force.

Dube admitted to possessing and distributing child pornography images, according to a news release from the Attorney General's Office. His computer and other equipment were seized and will undergo forensic analysis.

The 6-month-old task force utilizes officers posing online as children.

"There's so many targets out there. We try and target some of the worst of the worst a lot of times," said Lt. Mike Baute of the state Attorney General's Office.

Baute said cooperation between agencies is the key to making the task force work. Law enforcement agencies from St. Petersburg, New Port Richey, Bradenton, Hillsborough County and Largo participated in the arrest.

"Most of these cases turn out to be a multijurisdictional-type case and investigations, so we've realized when we team up and we work these cases together, we're much more effective," he said. "We share the information and we learn more about these predators."

Dube was booked into the Pinellas County Jail, where he is being held without bail.

More charges against Dube are possible, according to the Attorney General's Office.

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