A man who worked as a commissioner of a Broward County town and volunteered as Santa Claus turned himself in to authorities Thursday afternoon to face numerous child pornography charges.
James Silverstone, 62, was the incumbent Lauderdale-by-the-Sea District 2 commissioner in the 2010 election and formerly the town’s volunteer fire department chief. He also volunteered as Santa Claus in the town, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.
The Sheriff’s Office did not release many details of its investigation Thursday but said that it began in late April with a computer user who downloaded over 200 files with images and videos of child pornography. Silverstone became a suspect.
Investigators searched Silverstone’s home in the 200 block of Miramar Avenue in May. They found hundreds more files of child pornography, some depicting infants in the sexual acts, on electronic devices.
Silverstone was in the Broward Main Jail as of Thursday afternoon. He faces 10 counts of transmission of child pornography by electronic device.