Former Key West dispatcher arrested on child abuse material charges, FDLE says

A 21-year-old Cudjoe Key man who worked as a Key West Police Department 911 telecommunicator was arrested on 18 felony counts after investigators say they found child sexual abuse material, animal sexual abuse material and AI-altered images on his devices.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement identified the suspect as Jacob Rookey and said his brief employment with the Key West Police Department ended in January 2026. FDLE said the arrest grew out of a statewide effort targeting people who share child-sex-abuse files, an effort that has put new attention on how law enforcement agencies screen and monitor employees in sensitive public safety jobs.

FDLE said the investigation began in September 2025 after a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, submitted by Snapchat, alleged an account shared a video depicting child sexual abuse. Investigators later executed a search warrant and said they found multiple files of child sexual abuse material and bestiality on Rookey’s electronic device. FDLE also said some of the images had been altered by artificial intelligence without the victims’ consent.

According to FDLE, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office helped serve a search warrant at Rookey’s residence on May 14, 2026. Investigators seized numerous electronic devices and transported him to the Monroe County Jail, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

FDLE said Rookey faces seven counts of promotion of animal sexual abuse material, three counts of promotion of AI-generated sexual images, three counts of possession of AI-generated child sexual abuse material, two counts of solicitation of child sexual abuse material, and one count each of promotion of child sexual abuse material, possession of child sexual abuse material and transmission of child sexual abuse material by electronic device.

Attorney General James Uthmeier said prosecutors will seek the maximum punishment. The Office of the Attorney General of Florida said Rookey faces up to 100 years in prison if convicted as charged, and that the case will be prosecuted by Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Jillian Tate in Florida’s Sixteenth Judicial Circuit.

The case lands as authorities nationwide confront a fast-growing problem. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says it identified more than 275 direct victims of generative-AI child sexual abuse material in 2024 and 2025 alone, and its CyberTipline reports tied to generative AI jumped from 4,700 in 2023 to 67,000 in 2024 and 1.5 million in 2025. Enough Abuse says Florida was among 45 states with laws criminalizing AI-generated or computer-edited child sexual abuse material as of August 2025.