SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — A local man was arrested this week for suspicion of possession of child pornography, authorities said.

Ernesto Jimenez-Peredo, 27, was arrested Tuesday, March 7, after South Lake Tahoe Police detectives received information from Internet Crimes Against Children with a tip involving the suspect. A search warrant was executed on Ponderosa Street where the suspect was taken into custody without incident, the department said.

“Often, these types of images and videos are obtained by the user, illegally over the dark web,” said South Lake Tahoe Police Detective Sgt. Scott Crivelli. “The regional ICAC task force, in Sacramento for SLT, goes through the tips received and determines which law enforcement jurisdiction would be applicable for investigation, where the images or videos are being shared/viewed.”

ICAC uses alerts from internet service providers, internet based storage companies as well as other online entities to track when possible child pornography is shared or possessed over the internet. Those alerts are then turned over to the local law enforcement agency for in-house investigation. 

Crivelli told the Tribune that Detective Matt Morrison began investigating Jimenez-Peredo after drafting, and being granted, search warrants. 

The search of Jimenez-Peredo’s home, included cloud storage and electronic devices.

“During the execution of the search warrants, images and videos depicting minors in obscene behavior were found,” Crivelli said. “Minors in obscene behavior or child pornography is defined by law as: content that depicts a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct and/or the lewd and lascivious display of the genitalia.”

Ernesto was arrested and booked into El Dorado County Jail where an ICE Detainer was added to two felony charges, Send/sell/etc obscene matter depicting minor and possession of obscene material.

His bail was set at $100,000 and he remained in custody as of Friday morning.