Pinellas deputies arrested a Hillsborough County assistant state attorney on child pornography charges Wednesday.

Detectives began investigating in July after receiving a tip that child pornography was being shared on the internet. They discovered the files depicted girls between the ages of 6 and 10 years old engaging in sexual acts.

Nearly a year later, detectives interviewed William Andrew Jones, 32, who they say admitted to viewing and sharing the files, according to a news release from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

Jones was arrested on a warrant and charged with eight felonies: three counts of possession of child pornography, three counts of transmission of child pornography and two counts of transmission of material harmful to a minor.

He was booked into the Orient Road Jail Wednesday morning with bond set at $160,000.

Jones previously worked as an assistant state attorney in the First Judicial Circuit in Pensacola from October 2019 to September 2021. He was hired as a Hillsborough assistant state attorney in October 2021, where Jones worked on felony cases in Division E criminal court.

Court records show Jones has tried drug possession, theft and battery cases in Hillsborough.

He was fired immediately after his arrest, according to the state attorney’s office.

In a statement, Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez said she was “deeply disturbed and sickened” by the allegations.

“As prosecutors, our duty is to protect the public, especially our children. There is no place in this office or community for this behavior,” Lopez wrote. “No one is above the law, and this office will never tolerate anyone who violates the trust of the people we serve.”

Jones will be prosecuted in the Sixth Judicial Circuit that spans Pinellas and Pasco counties.