SWAT team surrounds Hollywood man’s home over images on Kik sexually exploiting girls

SWAT Team Arrests Hollywood Man Over Child Exploitation Images on Kik

A 30-year-old man, Phillip Burla, was taken into custody on Wednesday by police with the assistance of a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team at his home in the Parkside neighborhood of Hollywood. He is accused of possessing images depicting sexual crimes involving girls as young as 9 years old, according to an arrest report.

Investigation Details

Records show that Burla was held at the Paul Rein Detention Facility in Pompano Beach by Friday. The case emerged after Media Lab, the company behind Kik, alerted The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) on July 30 about a user named “Chris_8.5in” who had uploaded sexually exploitative images of a minor on July 27-28.

The NCMEC then informed the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children task force that Media Lab had provided an Internet Protocol (IP) address linked to Comcast in Hollywood, connected to the Kik user. A subpoena led to Comcast identifying Phillip Burla as the subscriber using that IP address in September.

Previous Investigations and Warrants

Legal Proceedings

On Thursday, Broward County prosecutors charged Burla with a third-degree felony. His defense responded by submitting a written plea of not guilty, according to court documents.

“Chris_8.5in” had uploaded images sexually exploiting a girl on July 27-28.
Comcast identified the subscriber connected to the IP address as Burla in September.

Phillip Burla remains in custody facing serious charges related to child exploitation distributed via the Kik messaging platform.

Summary: A Hollywood man was arrested after authorities traced disturbing images on Kik to his IP address, revealing ongoing investigations and leading to felony charges.

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WPLG Local 10 WPLG Local 10 — 2025-11-07

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