October 19, 2020 at 1:45 p.m.
Local man facing 29 counts of possession of child porn
Local man facing 29 counts of possession of child porn
In addition to the child pornography counts, Matthew A. Walker is also charged with exposing genitals to a child, causing a child under 13 to view/listen to sexual activity and sexual exploitation of a child.
The first count is a Class I felony carrying a maximum prison term of 3 1/2 years. The last two counts are Class F felonies which carry a maximum sentence of 12 1/2 years of imprisonment.
Each of the child pornography charges is a Class D felony carrying a maximum prison sentence of 25 years along with a surcharge of $500 per image.
According to the criminal complaint, a Rhinelander Police Department detective received a tip from the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children on Oct. 14 about a child pornography message that was sent via Snapchat. According to the tip, four images had been uploaded by a user at an IP address police later connected to Walker.
On Oct. 15, RPD detectives, officers and agents from the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation executed a search warrant at Walker's home.
According to the criminal complaint, Walker allegedly told the detectives the images they were looking for were on his cellphone. He gave the detectives the password for his phone, and a search turned up 25 photos and 4 videos of suspected child pornography.
During questioning, Walker allegedly admitted to downloading the material, which included images of young boys and girls. He also estimated he had between 50 and 100 images of underage children.
He also said he would meet teenage children in online chat rooms and would entice them to send him nude photos of themselves.
During his initial appearance Friday, Judge Patrick O'Melia set a $25,000 cash bond with the condition that Walker have no contact with his roommate or anyone under the age of 18. He is also prohibited from using any device which can access the internet.
He will be represented by Elizabeth Svehlek of the public defender's office.
A preliminary hearing in the case is set for 9 a.m. Oct. 26.
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email at [email protected].
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