Lane Rees, Florida Republican Committeeman, Arrested on Child Porn Charges

Lane Rees is a current Republican state committeeman, a former Walton County commissioner, the 2011 Walton County man of the year, a Jeb Bush appointee and a former board chair for the Foundation for Evangelism. He's also now a suspected child pornographer. Rees, who is 61, was arrested yesterday on charges...

By Kyle Munzenrieder

April 2, 2013

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Lane Rees is a current Republican state committeeman, a former Walton County commissioner, the 2011 Walton County man of the year, a Jeb Bush appointee and a former board chair for the Foundation for Evangelism. He's also now a suspected child pornographer.

Rees, who is 61, was arrested yesterday on charges of possession and transmission of child pornography.

Authorities were tipped of in February by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that images of child porn were being traded from Rees's IP address. After a monthlong investigation, Walton County Sheriff's Deputies arrived yesterday afternoon at Rees's Santa Rosa Beach house to arrest him. According to North West Florida Daily News, authorities also seized Rees's computer.

They said that "pretty significant images" of child pornography were found in the home, but the exact number hasn't yet been determined.

Rees had been active in numerous political and Evangelical christian group. In 2002 he was appointed by then-Gov. Jeb Bush to serve on the Florida Medical Examiner Commission.

A Republican State Committee member is an elected position. Members get a vote at party meetings, and are allowed to set party rules and chose the state chair. Rees's wife is Walton County's Republican State Committeewoman.

If convicted, Rees could face more than 10 years in jail.

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