Webb City man bound over on child pornography charges

Jan. 4—A judge ordered a Webb City man bound over for trial Thursday on three counts of possessing child pornography following a preliminary hearing in Jasper County Circuit Court.

Judge Joseph Hensley decided at the conclusion of the hearing that there was probable cause for Charles B. Tyler, 46, to stand trial on the charges and set his initial appearance in a trial division for Jan. 24.

Cpl. Blake DeHaan of the Missouri State Highway Patrol testified that cybercrimes investigators looking into the distribution of child pornography on the internet developed information in October that illicit material had been downloaded to an internet protocol address in Webb City.

A search warrant was served Nov. 7 on Tyler's home, and a computer and box of hard drives were seized. DeHaan said the defendant admitted at the time that he had been using the internet browser Freenet to download child pornography.

A probable-cause affidavit filed with the charges states that hundreds of files containing suspected child pornography were found on the computer, three of which were used as the bases for the charges.

DeHaan testified that he viewed three video files that appeared to involve child victims 8 years old or younger, he told the court.