By Staff Reporter

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In a significant development, Kenneth Emmanuel Cruz-Santiago, 26, has been charged with possession and transmission of child pornography. His legal troubles continue as he was transported from state prison after completing two prior sentences on January 1. At the time of the alleged offense, Cruz-Santiago was already on pre-trial release following an arrest in Hillsborough County for marijuana trafficking.

The case began on November 16, 2024, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a CyberTip. The tip involved a Snapchat account that had uploaded and shared two images containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The report included a phone number and date of birth linked to the suspect’s account, which coincides with Cruz-Santiago’s date of birth.

Initially, the tip was directed to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. However, upon discovering that the phone number was registered to someone residing in Newberry, the investigation was transferred to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. An ASO detective took charge of the case on January 9, 2025.

The detective’s investigation revealed that the phone number was indeed connected to Cruz-Santiago. Shortly thereafter, on January 12, 2025, Cruz-Santiago was arrested in Alachua County for drug and firearm possession. The phone he had during his arrest matched the number identified in the CyberTip.

On January 28, 2025, the detective conducted an interview with Cruz-Santiago at the Alachua County Jail. After being read his Miranda rights, Cruz-Santiago confirmed the phone number was his. He acknowledged having a Snapchat account but provided a different username than the one mentioned in the CyberTip. He reportedly allowed the detective to search his phone, providing the passcode. A search warrant was obtained, but the investigation of his phone did not uncover any connections 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.