A registered sex offender was arrested yesterday in DeFuniak Springs and charged with four counts of possession of child pornography following an investigation by the Walton County Sheriff’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit.

On March 23, 2022, The Walton County Sheriff’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit received a tip from The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding four files of potential child pornography being stored on an online storage platform.

A search warrant was executed on a residence on South 19^th Street in DeFuniak Springs on May 10, 2022. During the search of the residence, the suspect was identified as registered sex offender Eric Michael Soles, 43, who admitted to being sexually attracted to female children between the ages of 10 and 12. Numerous electronic devices were seized and brought to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office for forensic processing.

The Cyber Crimes Unit found Soles to be in possession of sexually explicit videos involving children under the age of 13.

Eric Soles was arrested by Walton County Sheriff’s Office investigators on May 23, 2022. He was subsequently charged with four counts of possession of child pornography. He is being held at the Walton County Jail without bond.

The Walton County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank DeFuniak Springs Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations for their assistance with this investigation.