BELLEVILLE - A Belleville man charged with possessing child pornography was denied his request to suppress evidence in the case at a hearing Friday in Green County Circuit Court.
Michael John Owen, 49, pleaded not guilty in January to seven Class D felony counts of possessing child pornography. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and 10 years on extended supervision.
His attorney, Brian Severson, filed a motion to suppress evidence seized last year at Owen's home in the N9100 block of Dohm Drive. The evidence seized included a laptop and two thumb drives.
Severson argued that the search warrant used to seize evidence was insufficient in establishing probable cause for the search.
The search warrant was based on an investigator's finding that an IP address connected to Owen's internet service account was used to upload images of child pornography in August 2016.
Severson wrote in his motion that IP address assignments can change over time and Owen had recently moved.
The warrant "failed to establish a connection between the specific IP address used to commit a crime and the place to be searched, at the time the specific IP address was used to commit a crime," he wrote.
Assistant District Attorney Laura Kohl said Severson's argument was based on "torturous logic."
"It is an unreasonable reading of the warrant," she said at Friday's hearing. The probable cause presented in the warrant was "frankly pretty straight-forward."
Judge James Beer agreed and denied the motion.
"I think it's pretty clear that probable cause does exist," Beer said.
Images and videos found on a laptop and two thumb drives at Owen's residence depict pornography involving girls as young as 5, according to the criminal complaint.
The images and video show prepubescent girls with "small, child-like body structure with no adult muscle development" being instructed into various sexual poses and acts, according to an investigator's report. In some images, the child "appears to be sleeping or unconscious."
Owen's case is moving forward with a pre-trial conference Dec. 19.
Michael John Owen, 49, pleaded not guilty in January to seven Class D felony counts of possessing child pornography. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and 10 years on extended supervision.
His attorney, Brian Severson, filed a motion to suppress evidence seized last year at Owen's home in the N9100 block of Dohm Drive. The evidence seized included a laptop and two thumb drives.
Severson argued that the search warrant used to seize evidence was insufficient in establishing probable cause for the search.
The search warrant was based on an investigator's finding that an IP address connected to Owen's internet service account was used to upload images of child pornography in August 2016.
Severson wrote in his motion that IP address assignments can change over time and Owen had recently moved.
The warrant "failed to establish a connection between the specific IP address used to commit a crime and the place to be searched, at the time the specific IP address was used to commit a crime," he wrote.
Assistant District Attorney Laura Kohl said Severson's argument was based on "torturous logic."
"It is an unreasonable reading of the warrant," she said at Friday's hearing. The probable cause presented in the warrant was "frankly pretty straight-forward."
Judge James Beer agreed and denied the motion.
"I think it's pretty clear that probable cause does exist," Beer said.
Images and videos found on a laptop and two thumb drives at Owen's residence depict pornography involving girls as young as 5, according to the criminal complaint.
The images and video show prepubescent girls with "small, child-like body structure with no adult muscle development" being instructed into various sexual poses and acts, according to an investigator's report. In some images, the child "appears to be sleeping or unconscious."
Owen's case is moving forward with a pre-trial conference Dec. 19.