Stuart police arrest man in possession of child porn following 'deranged, horrific' manifesto

STUART — A man who said he wrote a manifesto detailing dozens of sexual crimes spanning four decades across the country turned himself in to Stuart police late last week, according to an arrest affidavit.

"Probably one of the most ... deranged, horrific 24 pages I have ever read in my career," said Chief Joseph Tumminelli.

James Leonard Ward-Nichols, 61, who did not have a listed address, faces charges in Stuart of possession of child pornography, records show.

Ward-Nichols said he sent details to Stuart police of crimes he said he committed in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He said he sent the manifesto to various media; TCPalm received the document.

Tumminelli said the FBI is investigating what's mentioned in the document.

Ward-Nichols called Stuart police Saturday from a business in the 4000 block of U.S. 1 to turn himself in to law enforcement and "confess to his crimes."

When police spoke with Ward-Nichols, he told officers of an incident inside a store in Stuart in 2015, records show. Dispatchers told officers they were able to find a case matching what Ward-Nichols described, so officers transported him to the police station.

Tumminelli said detectives are investigating that incident and what Ward-Nichols told them. No charges have been filed in that case.

But while at Stuart police headquarters, Ward-Nichols told police "I don't know if this matters, but part of my confession says that on my laptops is a whole bunch of child pornography," according to the arrest affidavit.

After another Stuart police investigator confirmed Ward-Nichols said he sent the 24-page manifesto detailing sexual crimes dating back to 1979, police searched through his laptops, records show.

Police found at least two images of child pornography on a laptop, according to the arrest affidavit.

Ward-Nichols had sent emails to Stuart police since July 2021, Tumminelli said. He said the man was asking generic questions about the statute of limitations on cases and only referenced the 2015 case in July.

"I just want to make sure that we're doing everything here within the city and coordinating with other cities throughout the United States and the FBI ..." Tumminelli said.

Ward-Nichols is in custody at the Martin County Jail without bond, a jail official said.

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Mauricio La Plante is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow him on Twitter @mslaplantenews or email him at mauricio.laplante@tcpalm.com.