Florida man nicknamed 'Santa' and his son allegedly abused local kids and produced child porn; son commits suicide during raid

Florida police say they were tipped off to a man and his son producing child pornography at their home and found the pair was abusing neighborhood children after an investigation.

About 30 law enforcement officials raided the home on Countryside View Drive in St. Cloud on Tuesday at about 10 a.m., according to neighbors who talked to WESH-TV.

79-year-old James Cox and his son Henry Cox lived at the home.

Witnesses said that a body was carried out of the home during the raid, and the Orange County Medical Examiner later confirmed that they had been called about a dead body in the home.

St. Cloud police later said that Henry Cox died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

"The cause of death is gunshot wound of head and manner of death has been ruled a suicide," read a statement from the Osceola County Medical Examiner's Office.

A criminal complaint says that police received a cyber-tip about child pornography being uploaded from the home in November, and they raided the home on Jan. 19. They found several hard drives with videos and images of children being abused and exploited.

Agents said that the elder Cox admitted to looking at child porn online, but the younger Cox denied any involvement.

Based on the evidence they discovered, investigators said that the son produced some of the child pornography while his father uploaded it.

Investigators said that one video panned across a mirror and showed the son recording the file in the reflection.

Police said that they found video evidence that they had recorded children in public bathrooms and while they changed clothes. Some of the alleged underage victims appeared to be children who lived in the neighborhood.

The surviving Cox is being held at the Seminole County Jail.

Residents of the neighborhood said it's a quiet place, usually.

"You just don't think it's going to be so close to your house, and having four girls myself, it's a little unsettling," said Emily Jenkins to WESH.

"I think it confirms that we can't be restful and let our kids play outside," she added. "It's always play in the backyard now. It's not like it used to be."

Here's a news report about the incident:

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