Lake Alfred commissioner resigns 5 days after being charged with possessing child porn

Sara-Megan Walsh, Lakeland Ledger
·2 min read
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Charles Lake has resigned from the Lake Alfred City Commission after his arrest on child-porn charges on April 18.
Charles Lake has resigned from the Lake Alfred City Commission after his arrest on child-porn charges on April 18.

Lake Alfred commissioner Charles Oswald Lake has voluntarily resigned from office after being arrested on charges of possessing child pornography.

Lake submitted a letter to Mayor Nancy Daley on Tuesday stating his official resignation from Seat 2 on Lake Alfred's commission, effective immediately. His term was scheduled to run through April 2027.

Lake's headshot and biography had been removed from the City of Lake Alfred's website as of Wednesday.

"In the upcoming weeks, the City will determine and announce the details regarding the process and timeline to fill the vacant seat in accordance with the City Charter," City Manager Ryan Leavengood wrote in an email.

Lake, 90, was arrested April 18 by the Polk County Sheriff's Office and faces 300 second-degree felony enhanced counts of child pornography.

Charles Lake's resignation letter to Lake Alfred Mayor Nancy Daley, submitted April 23.
Charles Lake's resignation letter to Lake Alfred Mayor Nancy Daley, submitted April 23.

Lake's arrest was the result of Adobe Inc. making a report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about an individual downloading photos of a pre-teen girl "exposed in a lewd manner" last November. The downloads were traced back to Lake's internet service provider address, according to the Sheriff's Office, and used to obtain a search warrant for his house.

When Polk County deputies searched Lake's house, they found a silver Patriot external thumb drive in his home office. It was labeled "XXX" and containing 300 images and videos of child pornography, according to a police affidavit. Lake was offered pre-trial release on a $1.5 million bond. Conditions would involve Lake being put under house arrest with GPS monitoring, no contact with any child younger than 18 and no possession, access or use of any computers or electronic devices that can access the internet. His attorney is listed as an assistant public defender, according to Polk County Clerk of Court records. However, he listed as still in custody as of Wednesday at South County Jail, according to PCSO's Jail Inmate Lookup.

Lake's next scheduled court date is May 21.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @SaraWalshFl.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lake Alfred commissioner Charles Lake resigns amid child-porn charges