MONROE - A Monroe man was released on a $16,000 signature bond in Green County Circuit Court on Monday for eight counts of possessing videos of child pornography.
John Jeffery Eberle, 52, was arrested on Thursday for possession of child pornography following a month-long investigation by Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation agents. DCI agents and Monroe police officers executed a search warrant at Eberle's home in the 2500 block of 13th Avenue and seized a laptop computer that allegedly contained 50 individual clips depicting child pornography.
In court on Monday, Eberle appeared via teleconference from the Green County jail for his initial appearance. Judge Thomas Vale agreed to the district attorney's request for a $16,000 signature bond with additional conditions that he not leave the state or Green County without permission from the court except for his job at Conway Trucking. Bond also requires that Eberle surrender his passport, not possess a computer or electronic device except a cellphone to be used for his employment. He is also to have no contact with any person under the age of 18 unless it is supervised contact with family members.
Court records indicate DCI agents with the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit discovered that a computer in the Monroe area had downloaded files containing child pornography through a peer-to-peer website on the internet. A P2P connection allows individual computers to communicate with each other over the Internet and share files, similar to the music file sharing system Napster.
Agents became aware Eberle allegedly downloaded child pornography in December and issued a subpoena to the Internet provider, Charter, to learn Eberle's address. After officers seized the laptop, they randomly chose eight video clips that all contained alleged evidence of prepubescent children engaging in sex acts. Of the eight clips, most were a few seconds long with two lasting more than seven minutes.
Each count against Eberle carries a maximum fine of $100,000 or 25 years imprisonment or both. If convicted for the maximum penalty on all counts, Eberle could face up to $800,000 in fines or 200 years imprisonment or both. He has a preliminary hearing set for Feb. 10.
John Jeffery Eberle, 52, was arrested on Thursday for possession of child pornography following a month-long investigation by Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation agents. DCI agents and Monroe police officers executed a search warrant at Eberle's home in the 2500 block of 13th Avenue and seized a laptop computer that allegedly contained 50 individual clips depicting child pornography.
In court on Monday, Eberle appeared via teleconference from the Green County jail for his initial appearance. Judge Thomas Vale agreed to the district attorney's request for a $16,000 signature bond with additional conditions that he not leave the state or Green County without permission from the court except for his job at Conway Trucking. Bond also requires that Eberle surrender his passport, not possess a computer or electronic device except a cellphone to be used for his employment. He is also to have no contact with any person under the age of 18 unless it is supervised contact with family members.
Court records indicate DCI agents with the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit discovered that a computer in the Monroe area had downloaded files containing child pornography through a peer-to-peer website on the internet. A P2P connection allows individual computers to communicate with each other over the Internet and share files, similar to the music file sharing system Napster.
Agents became aware Eberle allegedly downloaded child pornography in December and issued a subpoena to the Internet provider, Charter, to learn Eberle's address. After officers seized the laptop, they randomly chose eight video clips that all contained alleged evidence of prepubescent children engaging in sex acts. Of the eight clips, most were a few seconds long with two lasting more than seven minutes.
Each count against Eberle carries a maximum fine of $100,000 or 25 years imprisonment or both. If convicted for the maximum penalty on all counts, Eberle could face up to $800,000 in fines or 200 years imprisonment or both. He has a preliminary hearing set for Feb. 10.