WILMINGTON — A local man is a suspect in a Homeland Security investigation into alleged child pornography.
Wilmington Police Chief Ron Fithen told the News Journal Tuesday morning that police received a report on Friday from an individual who “located a concealment type of camera in her bathroom.” The woman believes it was left in the bathroom by her ex-boyfriend, according to police.
The woman had the SD card reviewed by a friend, Fithen said, and the person located files/videos of the complainant’s “juvenile children in the complete nude.”
On Monday, WPD Det. Codey Juillerat reviewed the case, and due to the nature of the suspected crime, he reached out to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Agents for assistance.
“Three HSI agents responded to the department and conducted a forensic examination of the SD card that was originally in the concealment-type camera,” said Fithen. “They recovered and located several videos of known juveniles (13-years-old and younger at the time of the production) in the complete nude while in the bathroom.”
Juillerat petitioned the courts for a search warrant to be executed at the suspect’s Wilmington home for electronic devices described in the search warrant. The warrant was signed and executed on the same date. The suspect’s name has not been released.
According to Fithen, nearly 40 items were seized and will be analyzed at a later date. The suspect was detained Monday evening by federal agents, interviewed at the department, and was later released.
No criminal charges have been filed yet and the case is still under a “lengthy investigation,” said Fithen.
Reach John Hamilton at 937-382-2574
