Staff report from Alachua County Sheriff’s Office release

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – William James Kiefer, 50, has been arrested on 13 child pornography charges.

On March 30, 2025, Microsoft alerted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about possible child sexual abuse content found through a reverse image search.

By April 9, 2025, Detective J. Dawson from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, who works with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, verified that the content was indeed CSAM. They traced the IP address back to a suspect, William Kiefer, a 50-year-old living in Gainesville.

On May 8, 2025, a search warrant was executed at Kiefer’s residence and investigators collected 68 electronic devices.

On May 20, 2025, a second search warrant was issued for digital forensic review of the devices.

Initially checking one device, authorities uncovered over 22,000 files, confirming that roughly 100 of them contained CSAM. A comprehensive investigation is still underway.

Kiefer was arrested and charged with 12 counts of Possession of Child Pornography and one count of Digital Transmission of Child Pornography. The warrant for his arrest set bail at $1,300,000.

Additional charges are pending the forensic review.

If you suspect child exploitation, please report it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST or CyberTipline.org.

We are committed to protecting the most vulnerable members of our community.