The mother of a Lake County man arrested on 25 counts of child pornography claims investigators have it all wrong.
"This is totally out of his character, he would never do anything like this,” said Virginia O’Hare.
On Monday, O’Hare’s son, 53-year-old Robert O’Hare was arrested after authorities say he downloaded and shared child porn using a computer and the free public Wi-Fi at a coffee shop in downtown Mount Dora for weeks.
Authorities also searched the home O'Hare shares with his mother, and say they found a black plastic tarp hanging on his bedroom window with a hole in it and a telescope with a webcam in his closet.
"The telescope they found was on a homemade pole and when they lined it up to the tarp on the window it matched perfectly and fit perfectly in this hole he had cut,” said Lt. John Herrell with the sheriff’s office. “So obviously, with the nature of the charges he was arrested on, there are concerns where that he may have been spying on children in the neighborhood.”
O'Hare's mother says her son has had that telescope since he was a young boy and that he only documents nature with it.
"He loves taking pictures. When we go like to places like the Smokey Mountains or in the Carolinas we always take pictures of the habitat, the natural habitat and he has always has kept that equipment in his room,” said Virginia O’Hare.
Authorities are awaiting forensic results and say more charges are possible.
O'Hare made bond Wednesday night and has a hearing on Nov. 2.