Police say a sexual predator who worked at Disney World contacted kids through Xbox Live games

POLK CITY, Fla. - Polk County Sheriff's detectives arrested 22-year-old Timothy Wayne Hammerstone on 16 counts of possession of child pornography.

Investigators say Hammerstone was connecting with two boys in California over the Xbox Live gaming network from the Polk City house he shares with family members. Deputies say Hammerstone convinced one of the boys to send more than 30 nude photographs to him in return for $20 worth of credits.

When the mother of the boy found out about the chats she contacted her local police.

Now the Polk County Sheriff is concerned other sexual predators may be contacting children through Xbox Live and asking them for inappropriate pictures.

"These two ten-year-olds, apparently through an Xbox connection set up without the knowledge of their parents by a predator, were able to go live, play Xbox games live, and connect," said Sheriff Grady Judd.

Sheriff Judd says he is worried the boy in California will continue to be a victim of child pornography.

"If he has now taken that further and put it out on the web, this 10-year-old little boy will be victimized forever more," Judd said.

Hammerstone worked at the commissary at the Disney Hollywood Studios, one of the theme parks at Disney World. Disney issued a statement saying, "We have no tolerance for this type of activity and he no longer works for the company."

Timothy's sister defended her brother.

"I'm not saying that what he did was right by no means, but I'm also not saying he deserves as much time as he is going to get," she said. "He deserves to get the help he needs and maybe even do time, but life? Or 15 years? I think that's just too much."

Hammerstone remains in Polk County jail, with bond set at $80,000.