Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Police say they found child porn in man's house

The search reveals cameras, videos, DVDs and photographs in Vonelle Cook's house, which has been a popular hangout for young men and boys, authorities say. Some of them said Cook was like family to them.

By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published May 20, 2006

TAMPA - Upstairs in the house on 19th Street, police say, they found the stuff of children. Comic books. Xboxes. Candy.

Downstairs, police say, they found the marks of a disturbed adult. Surveillance cameras mounted around a bed. Homemade videos and DVDs. Thousands of photographs of naked young men and boys.

On Friday, police arrested Vonelle Cook, 62, on drug charges and child neglect-related charges after they searched his home at 10910 N 19th St. near University Square Mall and found marijuana and drug paraphernalia along with the pornographic materials, police spokesman Larry McKinnon said.

By evening, authorities had charged Cook with three counts of attempting to show obscene material to a child, one count of child neglect and multiple counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, McKinnon said. He also faced charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Neighbors and police say young men in their late teens and early 20s often came and went from the house. On Friday, police found several teens and young men, ranging in age from 16 to 20, inside the home, hanging out.

As police walked Cook from the house to a patrol car, he told reporters he didn't have any child pornography.

"No, I'm not guilty," he said. The fact that police found cameras and nude photographs "doesn't mean there's kiddie porn," he said.

Cook owns two adult bookstores on 50th Street, according to police spokeswoman Andrea Davis.

Police say they received a tip that Cook had child pornography in his home. When they searched the house for drugs, they noticed cameras aimed at a bed and pornographic material.

They secured a search warrant for the pornography that afternoon. Not long after, police began to cart boxes and bags of tapes, photographs and other material from the home. They plan to review it this morning, McKinnon said.

It's not the first time Cook has been arrested.

In 1985, Cook was arrested by Tampa police on charges of lewd and lascivious fondling of a child, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The case was turned over to another agency, records show, and it's unclear how it was resolved. In 1986, he was arrested by Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies on charges of racketeering and obscenity, according to the FDLE. It's also unclear how that case was resolved.

Former Hillsborough State Attorney Harry Lee Coe filed suit in 1995 to shut down Cook's adult movie theater, saying it threatened public health through the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

Police say Cook's home served as a haven for young boys when they ditched a day of school.

"This is where kids go and hang out when they're skipping school," police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said.

Two young men who spent time in Cook's home say he treated them well, letting them play video games and serving as a sort of father figure for boys who didn't know their dads.

Randall Dale, 20, met Cook several years ago. He stood on a sidewalk Friday afternoon, looking bewildered by the patrol cars and news of Cook's arrest.

Dale never saw a sex room in the house, he said. He described his relationship to Cook as "close friends."

Cook's attention gave him a respite from his life as a teenager, he said. Inside the home, he played the video games Ghost, Underground and Smash Brothers.

"As far as I've seen, that man never touched anybody," he said. "He was honest, he was polite, he was a cool dude."

Luis Serrano, 22, also spent time in Cook's home.

He described the home as a three-bedroom residence. Two bedrooms were upstairs. Cook's bedroom and a living room were downstairs, he said.

Cook talked to Serrano about the older man's life, he said, including time spent in the military. As far as Cook's livelihood or any pornography, Serrano said he never asked.

"I never got into his business," he said.

He described Cook as being like "family."

Times researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report. Abbie VanSickle can be reached at 813 226-3373 or vansickle@sptimes.com.

[Last modified May 20, 2006, 06:44:04]