March 26, 2009
Brandon Haught
Public Information Office

SEX OFFENDER ARRESTED FOR POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

A 61-year-old registered sex offender was found with several images of child pornography in his residence near New Smyrna Beach and was arrested Wednesday. Erwin Mettler faces 12 counts of possession of sexual performance by a child. Mettler admitted to downloading the images from the Internet and printing them. He was transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach without incident on $60,000 bond.

Mettler rented a room at 910 Tater Road since January. In mid-March Mettler was admitted to a hospital, and during his stay there he requested that his landlord go into his room to retrieve some clothes for him. While looking for the clothing, the landlord discovered a stack of printed pictures of adolescents engaged in sex acts. The landlord then reported the find to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office’s sex crimes squad obtained a search warrant and went in Wednesday morning.

Mettler was convicted of lewd and lascivious assault in the presence of a minor in 1994 in Duval County. In 2000, after serving his prison sentence and probation, he was no longer under any form of confinement, supervision or any other court imposed sanction. However, Mettler is designated as a sexual offender and is required to register in accordance with Florida law, which he has done.