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Courtesy photo. Erwin Mettler, 61, a convicted child sex offender, was arrested at his residence near New Smyrna Beach on 12 counts of possession of child pornography, the Volusia Sheriff's Office said today.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- 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, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said this afternoon.
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, Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said.
Mettler was transported to theVolusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach without incident and was being held on $60,000 bail.
According to a Sheriff's report, 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 stackof printed pictures of adolescents engaged in sex acts, according to the report. 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.