TAVARES, Fla. -- A public-safety communicator in Lake County was arrested this week and later fired after he was accused of obtaining child porn through a Facebook Messenger account named after a Star Wars character, records show. 

John Tharan Knotts, 30, of Leesburg used an account named Jango Fett, a Star Wars bounty hunter, to download the illegal images, officials allege in a report released Wednesday.

Knotts was arrested Tuesday after an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Knotts listed his occupation on the arrest report as Lake EMS dispatch. 

Knotts initially was placed on administrative leave without pay pending the outcome of the investigation, Tiffany Henderson, a Lake County government spokeswoman, said Thursday.

Henderson said Friday he had been fired. 

FDLE recommended no bond for Knotts. Additional charges are pending, FDLE said.

Records show Knotts was released after appearing before 5th Circuit Court Judge James R. Baxley and posting $60,000 bond.

His next court date, an arraignment on the felony charges, is at 8:30 a.m. September 8.

He was charged with 20 counts of possessing images of sexual performances by children. Each charge is third-degree felony. People convicted of third-degree felonies in Florida face a maximum possible penality of five years in prison for each charge.

State records show he holds a license as a public-safety communicator.

His license was issued October 17, 2017. It is due to expire February 1, 2021.

The Florida Department of Health records show no emergency actions, discipline or complaints have been filed against his license.

FDLE launched an investigation on June 25 after getting a tip from the nonprofit National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 

Internet providers who suspect people are downloading illegal images send that information to the nonprofit, which then reaches out to law enforcement agencies with tips.

FDLE traced the illegal downloads to a house in Leesburg owned by the suspect’s father. That's where the younger Knotts lives.

FDLE agents with a warrant searched the home Tuesday. 

John Tharan Knotts declined to speak with agents. His father talked to them.

The suspect’s father told them about his son’s electronics, including a newly built desktop computer in his son’s bedroom. An external hard drive was attached to the computer.

“The user name on the computer screen was visible as "john k," the arrest report said. “Agents conducted on-site forensic analysis of the device and observed the given name and surname for the "john k" account was listed as John Knotts …”

Agents also found references to the Jango Fett Facebook Messenger account.

They found “multiple digital image/video files depicting child sexual exploitation material” in the external hard drive, the report said.

Agents said they found 10 illegal images were found on the external hard drive attached to the desktop.

They found another hard drive with 10 more illegal images, the arrest report says.