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Facebook tag prompts Henrico child porn search

Posted at 11:32 PM, Oct 28, 2013
and last updated 2013-10-29 06:28:43-04

HENRICO, Va. (WTVR)--Some people living off Correnty Drive contacted CBS 6 about a heavy  police presence in their neighborhood, wondering why they were there.

We found answers for those folks Monday night and discovered search warrants that suggest it had something to do with Facebook and pornographic images.

This week Correnty Drive is back to normal: quiet, much different from what people living here say they saw just six days ago.

"There was a battering ram, and police walking up and down the street,” said David Brown.  “Police were in riot gear with their shields."

Court records show police were searching the home of a 23-year-old Henrico man after photographs of a naked 16-year-old girl showed up on Facebook.

The alleged victim’s sister, according to the affidavit, was tagged in the photos.  Court records reveal the woman is now 23 herself and that she admits to sending nude photos to her boyfriend when she was a teen, but says she never authorized anyone to post them.

A search warrant was issued for the charges of harassment by computer and possession, reproduction, distribution and facilitation of child pornography.

"Computer harassment is the charge, but it's possible that they just use that for probable cause now, and will possibly charge him with more even child pornography later," said CBS-6 legal expert Todd Stone.

The affidavit  also says that alleged suspect swore out a warrant against the victim, claiming the victim was threatening him with posts on her page.  The posts bragged about having guns and they were going to be used to kill the suspect.

But when detectives did an address search of the computer that sent the messages, they learned those threats originated from the suspect's Correnty Drive address

“If the magistrate issued him a warrant as a victim, but find out he lied,  then there will most likely be additional charges," said Stone.

Stone says the computer harassment charge alone carries a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.