MARION COUNTY, Florida (March 30, 2018)- After a thorough investigation conducted alongside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) detectives have arrested Lawrence Margulies (DOB: 03/18/1970) for possessing multiple files of child pornography. Margulies, a U.S. citizen who holds a Ph.D. in Physics, was working in Canada in 2017 when he was deported from the country for possessing child pornography. Margulies was residing with family in the On Top of the World subdivision in Marion County when he was arrested for the same offense Friday morning.
On February 12, 2018, MCSO Detective Shannon Wiles with the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit (ICAC) received a tip in reference to Margulies possessing child pornography. After a thorough investigation, Detective Wiles secured a search warrant for Margulies’ residence, located at 9378 SW 90th Court, Unit C in the On Top of the World subdivision, which was served on Friday, March 30th. During the search warrant, authorities from the MCSO and HSI located 20 files of explicit child pornography on a laptop computer in the defendant’s possession. Detectives also located a thumb drive containing child pornography in Margulies’ bedroom. Margulies was immediately placed under arrest and was transported to the Marion County Jail.
Margulies has been charged with 20 counts of Possession of Child Pornography and is currently being held on $100,000 bond. The MCSO would like to extend their sincerest gratitude to ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations for their continued support and assistance during this
