Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Kenneth Emmanuel Cruz-Santiago, a 26-year-old man, now faces charges related to the possession and distribution of child pornography. This comes after he was transferred from a state prison where he had completed two previous sentences as of January 1. At the time of the alleged offense, Cruz-Santiago was out on pre-trial release following a marijuana trafficking arrest in Hillsborough County.

The case began on November 16, 2024, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a CyberTip concerning illicit activities on a Snapchat account. This account had reportedly uploaded and disseminated two images classified as child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The information accompanying the tip included a phone number and date of birth that aligned with Cruz-Santiago’s personal details.

The initial investigation was undertaken by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. However, upon discovering that the phone number in question was linked to a Newberry resident, the case was redirected to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. An ASO detective took over the inquiry on January 9, 2025, delving deeper into the matter.

Through further investigation, the detective confirmed the phone number’s connection to Cruz-Santiago. It was also uncovered that Cruz-Santiago was arrested in Alachua County on January 12, 2025, for drug and firearm possession. At the time of this arrest, he had a cell phone, which matched the number identified in the CyberTip, tightening the case against him.

On January 28, 2025, the detective interviewed Cruz-Santiago at the Alachua County Jail, and post Miranda, Cruz-Santiago reportedly confirmed that the phone number was his. He said he had a Snapchat account but gave a different username than the one in the CyberTip. Cruz-Santiago reportedly gave the detective the passcode for his phone and provided consent to search it; the detective obtained a search warrant for the phone, and a review of the phone showed no links to the suspect’s Snapchat account.

On January 30, 2025, Snapchat provided the contents of the suspect’s account, and the detective learned that the account was accessed from an iPhone; Cruz-Santiago’s phone was an Android. However, the geolocation data for the suspect’s Snapchat account placed the user at a Gainesville address belonging to a family member of Cruz-Santiago on November 15, 2024.

On November 15, 2024, the suspect’s Snapchat account exchanged messages with another account, and the suspect’s account received pictures of a female and then asked for “something else younger.” When the other account sent more images, the suspect’s account sent, “Younger.”

In another conversation on November 15, 2024, the suspect’s account sent one of the CSAM images to another account and told that account they wanted similar images; the other account did not send any CSAM to the suspect’s account.

In another conversation on November 14, 2024, another account referred to the owner of the suspect’s account as “Kenneth.”

The detective reported that the two CSAM files in the CyberTip were found in the suspect’s account, and there were also 38 pictures and videos showing Cruz-Santiago’s face; Cruz-Santiago’s Cashapp account was also shared in messages.

In August 2025, the detective spoke with the family member who lived at the Gainesville address, and she reportedly told the detective that Cruz-Santiago’s phone had been stolen “before Christmas of 2024”; the detective found an incident report from November 14, 2024 in which Cruz-Santiago had reported that his iPhone was stolen.

The detective reported that the contents and geolocation data from the suspect’s account showed that Cruz-Santiago was using the account at the time the CSAM images were uploaded.

One of the CSAM files reportedly showed a partially nude female child, approximately 6-8 years old, on the lap of a partially nude adult male; the other showed a nude female, approximately 12-14 years old.

Cruz-Santiago has been charged with two counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of transmission of child pornography; in the arrest warrant, Judge David Kreider set bail at $150,000. Cruz-Santiago has five felony convictions (one violent) and four misdemeanor convictions (one violent); he just finished serving two nearly-concurrent prison sentences, one out of Alachua County and one out of Hillsborough County. He is on probation until January 1, 2028.

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.