MONROE - A Belleville man was charged Friday with seven counts of possession of child pornography after several hundred images of child porn were found in his possession on Wednesday.
Michael John Owen, 48, faces seven Class D felony counts of possession of child porn after his initial court appearance Friday.
Owen's charges stem from a two-month long investigation that culminated in his arrest Wednesday.
Owen was initially implicated after the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, a national network of law enforcement agencies tracking online child abuse and exploitation, informed the Green County Sheriff's Department that a child pornography download had been linked to Owen's IP address on Sept. 30.
On Nov. 30, the Sheriff's Department, working with agents from the Department of Criminal Investigations, executed a search warrant at Owen's residence in the N9100 block of Dohn Drive in Belleville while Owen was absent. Officers confiscated a laptop, an external hard drive, several flash drives, a cell phone, multiple cameras and other equipment for analysis.
According to a police report, several images were found on the flash drives and on the laptop depicting prepubescent girls exposing their genitals and performing sex acts on adult men. The report estimated that some of the victims were between 5 and 7 years old.
One of the flash drives contained 531 images of child porn while another contained 158 images. Seven of the images found on these drives formed the basis for each of Owen's felony charges.
The report stated one of the images discovered was identical to an image that had been flagged by ICAC on the social media site ChatStep in early October. That image led to the arrest of Timothy Gordon Hoffman, a 43-year-old former Orangeville school teacher.
After the images were discovered, Owen was arrested at his place of employment, the Truax Field Air National Guard Base.
Owen signed a $7,000 signature bond Friday with conditions that he have no contact with any child under the age of 18, that he not approach any school grounds and that he possess no computer, electronic storage medium or Internet connection equipment.
Owen's charges bear a maximum possible sentence of 105 year in prison. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 9.
Michael John Owen, 48, faces seven Class D felony counts of possession of child porn after his initial court appearance Friday.
Owen's charges stem from a two-month long investigation that culminated in his arrest Wednesday.
Owen was initially implicated after the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, a national network of law enforcement agencies tracking online child abuse and exploitation, informed the Green County Sheriff's Department that a child pornography download had been linked to Owen's IP address on Sept. 30.
On Nov. 30, the Sheriff's Department, working with agents from the Department of Criminal Investigations, executed a search warrant at Owen's residence in the N9100 block of Dohn Drive in Belleville while Owen was absent. Officers confiscated a laptop, an external hard drive, several flash drives, a cell phone, multiple cameras and other equipment for analysis.
According to a police report, several images were found on the flash drives and on the laptop depicting prepubescent girls exposing their genitals and performing sex acts on adult men. The report estimated that some of the victims were between 5 and 7 years old.
One of the flash drives contained 531 images of child porn while another contained 158 images. Seven of the images found on these drives formed the basis for each of Owen's felony charges.
The report stated one of the images discovered was identical to an image that had been flagged by ICAC on the social media site ChatStep in early October. That image led to the arrest of Timothy Gordon Hoffman, a 43-year-old former Orangeville school teacher.
After the images were discovered, Owen was arrested at his place of employment, the Truax Field Air National Guard Base.
Owen signed a $7,000 signature bond Friday with conditions that he have no contact with any child under the age of 18, that he not approach any school grounds and that he possess no computer, electronic storage medium or Internet connection equipment.
Owen's charges bear a maximum possible sentence of 105 year in prison. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 9.
