Former Pasco Detention Deputy Arrested Again on Child Porn Charges, Ex-Wife, Children's Mother, Never Notified

BROOKSVILLE – A former Pasco County Detention Deputy charged with possession of Child Pornography has been arrested again.

The arrest stems from the January 5th arrest of 34-year-old William Wilkinson who worked as the Pasco Detention Deputy in the Juvenile Detention Center.

According to officials, Wilkinson was found in possession of several images depicting adults engaging in sexual acts with young children. Wilkinson was booked into the Hernando County Jail and released on a $40,000 bond.

On January 26th, Wilkinson was arrested again after investigators discovered another image on his cell phone. That image depicted a child between the ages of 2 and 4 engaging in oral sex with an adult.

During Wilkinson's First Appearance hearing, Judge Barbara-Joe Bell ordered Wilkinson to wear a GPS monitoring device, which is standard for defendants facing charges involving crimes against children, but she did not order him to stay away from anyone under the age of 18, which is also standard protocol for most defendants.

Following Wilkinson's arrest, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office hid his mugshot from the jail website, which is allowed for current or former law enforcement officers. Additionally, the Fifth Judicial Circuit censored Wilkinson's First Appearance hearing from the circuit's YouTube page.

After Wilkinson was arrested, investigators were supposed to notify his ex-wife, Chelsea Jackson, so that she could take action to protect their children until the charges were resolved. Instead, detectives mistakenly notified Wilkinson's current wife without checking to see if she was the biological mother.

Angry over the irresponsible error that could have put her children at risk, Jackson took the social media to voice her concerns.

Jackson states in part, "I found out through a friend who heard through the grapevine after he was already bonded out of jail. The judge who saw his first hearing waived the stipulation affiliated with the charges that typically would have banned him from being around minor children, so our children were able to remain in his custody throughout this." Jackson feared that something could have happened to their children while they were in his custody, due to the severity of his charges and loss of his career.

Weeks after Wilkinson's arrest, Jackson secured a temporary order to have full custody of their children, but she is still furious with HCSO and DCF for failing to notify her.

Wilkinson is free on a $5,000 bond for the most recent charge.