Sarasota man gets 16.25 years on 15 counts of possessing child pornography

In February of 2020, the Defendant brought his phone to a “UBREAKIFIX” phone repair store in Sarasota County. While working on the device, employees located images of nude children and notified the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) who started an investigation. The investigation revealed multiple images of nude pubescent female children. The Defendant also used graphic sexual terms searching for naked young girls. When the Defendant came to pick up his phone, he was met with detectives who then interviewed him at SCSO headquarters. The Defendant admitted he was sexually attracted to girls 14 years old and up and that he viewed the images for sexual gratification.

Richard Sundstrom also told detectives he was a regular attendee of Riverview High School sporting events, and was friends with several female high school athletes on social media sites. He admitted he would save photos from their social media such as pictures of them in bikinis on the beach, saying they “looked good in [their] bikini.” He even had one picture of a nude adult female labeled as a “doppelganger” for a specific student at the school. The Defendant had no children or relatives who attended the school.

The lead prosecutor in the case, Assistant State Attorney S. Ethan Dunn, said: “This case serves as a stark reminder to parents to always be vigilant for those who wish to prey upon the children of our community. Thanks to the thorough investigation of the detectives at the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, the Defendant is being held accountable for his crimes. This sentence protects the children of this community and serves as a valuable reminder that those who prey upon children will find no safe haven in our community – this behavior will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent the law allows.”

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