A Gainesville man and registered sex offender was arrested Wednesday on charges of possessing child sexual abuse material.
The investigation into 38-year-old Joshua Simual Bryan began in April when Facebook submitted a CyberTip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. It reported a child exploitation image uploaded by one of its users.
The online account uploaded the image to Flingster, an adult video chat site, on April 10, according to the arrest report.
A check of the account’s IP address attached it to a user in Gainesville. Further investigation led to Bryan, who was staying at Value Lodge on Southwest 13th Street.
Gainesville Police Department officers searched Bryan’s motel room on June 26, where they seized multiple electronic devices.
Bryan told law enforcement he used his mother’s email, which was linked to the reported IP address. He denied owning the Flingster account but said it wasn’t his mother’s.
His mother confirmed she allowed Bryan to use her email address because he wasn’t allowed to have his own.
A search of one of Bryan’s cellphones found 148 child sexual abuse images, according to the arrest report. Flingster was also bookmarked on the device and found in its search history.
Bryan was arrested Wednesday and charged with 12 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material.
He was previously arrested in October 2021 and found guilty of 10 counts of possessing obscene material, leading to his classification as a sex offender.
Contact Bailey Diem at bdiem@alligator.org. Follow her on X @BaileyDiem.
Bailey Diem is a journalism junior and the Summer 2025 Engagement Managing Editor. She previously edited for the metro desk and reported for the metro and university desks. In her free time, she enjoys playing guitar or getting lost in a book.
