CHP arrests Elk Grove man accused of possessing more than 44,000 child porn images
California Highway Patrol investigators this week arrested a 66-year-old Elk Grove man accused of possessing more than 44,000 digital images of child pornography.
The Elk Grove man was arrested Wednesday after a three-month investigation by the CHP’s Computer Crimes Investigation Unit. He remained in custody Wednesday at the Sacramento County Jail.
He was being held without bail, and is scheduled to make his first appearance Friday afternoon in Sacramento Superior Court, jail and court records show. He faces charges of possessing material depicting child sexual abuse, the CHP announced Thursday in a news release.
The investigation began in April, when an investigator identified an IP address located Elk Grove that was suspected of downloading and distributing a significant quantity of child sexual abuse material, CHP officials said.
The IP address led investigators to the Elk Grove man’s home, according to officers. The CHP said the man lived there alone. Authorities in May served a search warrant at his home.
The CHP said investigators spent the next several weeks forensically analyzing multiple computers and storage media seized from the man’s home residence and found more than 44,000 pictures and videos of sexually abused children in ages from 3 to 13 years old. Officials said the digitally stored child porn images totaled almost 200 gigabytes.
On Wednesday, the investigators and the CHP Valley Division Warrant Service Team served an arrest warrant in the 8900 block of Vista Campo Way in Elk Grove, where the suspect was taken into custody without incident.
“The CHP’s commitment to public safety extends beyond the highway,” CHP Deputy Commissioner Troy Lukkes said in the news release. “Protecting the public from crimes of victimization and investigating those who engage in child exploitation is a top priority for members of our Computer Crimes Investigation Unit.”
