Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Bryan James Shuping, 57, was arrested yesterday on child pornography charges after Publix customers reported that he was taking pictures of children.

At about 7 p.m. on September 4, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to the Westgate Publix (3315 W. University Avenue) after a call was received about an older white male taking pictures of minors inside the store.

The officer located the man and identified him as Shuping; Shuping denied taking pictures of minors. He reportedly said he had been taking pictures of the area but hadn’t realized it looked like he was taking pictures of minors. The officer reviewed video surveillance from the store and noted that Shuping could be seen taking pictures of an individual who appeared to be a white pubescent juvenile male with his legs up. The photos were taken from a low angle, indicating the phone may have been between the juvenile’s legs.

Shuping reportedly gave consent for a search of his phone, and while looking through the phone, the officer reportedly found multiple nude images of pubescent juvenile males with their genitals visible. Shuping has been charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography.

Shuping has three felony convictions (one violent) and 15 misdemeanor convictions (none violent). He has served one state prison sentence and was released in 2009. He was arrested in March 2024 for video voyeurism after taking a video of a man using a urinal in a restroom at Library West on the University of Florida campus; he entered a plea of nolo contendere to charges of video voyeurism and battery and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, followed by three years of probation. However, he violated the probation in June 2024 by not reporting to his probation officer; the probation officer reported that although Shuping had provided an address in Trenton, a relative said he was believed to be homeless in Gainesville. After he was located and arrested, he pled to violating probation and was sentenced to 364 days in jail.

Judge George Wright set bail at $250,000 on the new charges.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.