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Police bust child porn suspect
MARTINEZ-RODRIQUEZ,-Juan-C
Martinez Rodriguez

MONROE — Police recently arrested a local man and charged him with multiple felonies related to alleged possession of child pornography.

The bust happened June 20, when Monroe officers, Green County Sheriff’s Deputies, and agents from the Wisconsin Dept. of Justice-Division of Criminal Investigation, executed a search warrant on a residence in the 700 block of 10th Avenue

The warrant resulted in the seizure of child pornography images and the arrest of Juan Carlos Martinez Rodriquez, 33, on a charge of possession of child pornography. Martinez Rodriquez remains in Green County Jail.

Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelly said the initial tip came from a national Internet clearing house operation that tries to identify child sex offenders based on their online activity. And due to the perceived anonymity of some web traffic, offenders engaged in such activity often think they won’t get caught or that they can erase their browsing history.

“They can’t hide it,” said Kelly “It’s always there.”

The program is national in scope but works closely with local and state law enforcement investigators.

“The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program (ICAC program) helps state and local law enforcement agencies develop an effective response to technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and Internet crimes against children,” said a U.S. Dept. of Justice Statement. “This help encompasses forensic and investigative components, training and technical assistance, victim services, and community education.”

Kelly said the victims of such crimes are the individual children portrayed in the illegal images but they can be difficult to track down. Still, he says such efforts to arrest consumers make a big difference in fighting child exploitation-related crimes.

“If you reduce the demand, hopefully the supply (of child pornography) will go down,” he said.

Martinez Rodriguez was scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on the charges at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday July 13 before Circuit Judge Thomas J. Vale, according to court records.