A 64-year-old Palm Coast man is facing 10 counts of possession of child pornography after a monthlong joint investigation led detectives to his Forest Hill Drive home, where a specialized electronic storage detection dog located multiple devices containing suspected child sexual abuse material.
The case began in March 2026 when the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office contacted the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Cyber Crimes and Internet Crimes Against Children Unit after St. Johns detectives intercepted a BitTorrent download consisting of 96 videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children. The person attempting to download the files was believed to be located in Flagler County. Through further investigation, FCSO Cyber Crimes detectives traced the downloads to a residence on Forest Hill Drive in Palm Coast.
On April 16, the FCSO Cyber Crimes and ICAC Unit, Digital Forensics Unit, and SWAT team executed a search warrant at the home, with assistance from the Northeast Florida Inter-Agency Child Exploitation and Persons Trafficking Task Force, known as NEFL INTERCEPT, and Homeland Security Investigations. During the search, K-9 Birdie — a dog trained to detect electronic storage devices — located multiple devices containing suspected child sexual abuse material. Those devices were seized for forensic analysis.
During an interview with detectives at the scene, the suspect, identified as Scott Beverst, 64, admitted he had been viewing child sexual abuse material since 2001 and described a preference for girls between the ages of 11 and 14. Beverst also agreed to show detectives material on his laptop.
Beverst was arrested and transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he is being held on a $250,000 bond. The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges may be filed pending the results of the forensic analysis of the seized devices.
Sheriff Rick Staly issued a direct warning to others engaging in similar activity. “Perverts watching these disgusting things and thinking they can get away with it should know we will catch them,” Staly said. “We work with our partner law enforcement agencies, the INTERCEPT Task Force, and others to protect our children and put perverts like this in jail.” More information about the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is available at www.flaglersheriff.com.
