A Villager has been released after more than a month in jail after a judge agreed to set bond in a child pornography case.
Michael Henry Roseman, 69, of the Village of Bradford, had been held without bond at the Sumter County Detention Center since his March 5 arrest on 30 counts of possession of child pornography. He was released Thursday after a judge agreed to set bond at $15,000 per county. Thus, Roseman has posted the necessary $450,000 bond. Roseman has pleaded not guilty in the case.
A warrant was issued after law enforcement paid a visit to Roseman’s home on Dray Drive in February. Microsoft had flagged suspected pornographic activity with the internet protocol address associated with Roseman’s account. When law enforcement began speaking with Roseman, he said he “understood” why they were there and said he had “stumbled upon several images depicting minor children engaged in sexual activity,” according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department.
Roseman was transported to the Wildwood Police Department for a formal interview, which was audio and video recorded. Roseman said he “did not want to hide anything.” He said he “began to research incest, in the form of pornography.” He said he had been viewing the material for 10 years and would often masturbate while watching it. He described where the images could be found on an external hard drive at his home.
The images recovered at Roseman’s home depicted children, both boys and girls, some as young as three years old. The children were involved in sexual situations with other children and with adults. In one video, a very young girl was naked except for thigh-high nylons and a blindfold. She was “noticeably upset” and began to cry. Information about the activity that happened next in the video has been redacted from the arrest report.
Roseman and his wife purchased their home in The Villages in 2020.
