Zionsville paramedic charged with four felonies for child pornography
May 27—A Zionsville firefighter and paramedic has now been charged with four felony counts regarding child pornography he admitted to collecting and distributing. Daniel L. Stevens, 47, of Whitestown has been charged with two felony counts of child exploitation and two felony counts of possession of child pornography.
According to affidavits filed with the court, a tip from Twitter led to the investigation and arrest when Stevens allegedly uploaded two images depicting nude prepubescent females and a collection photos of adult and child pornography in a ZIP file. The tip was submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children with the username and a phone number and email associated with the account.
The tip was passed to the Indiana Internet Crimes and Children task force and assigned to Lebanon Detective Amy Dickerson.
Four Internet Protocol addresses were also associated with the account. These are specific numerical sequences assigned to every computer accessing the Internet. The addresses are specific to an area and it was discovered that the IP addresses were registered to Stevens's home address, the Town of Zionsville and Ascension Health Information Services. The latter two organizations employ Stevens.
A search warrant was served early May 25 at Stevens's home and he agreed to speak to officers after being arrested. When it was explained the Internet at these three locations was used to upload child pornography, Dickerson wrote Stevens confirmed it was him. During the questioning, Stevens said he used his personal social media platforms and his personal tablet computer — found later at Zionsville Fire Department — to access the child pornography and not any device or account provided by his employers.
Dickerson wrote in the probable cause affidavit that Stevens admitted to both downloading and sharing child pornography. There were more images on his personal computer.
"The ICAC team is continuing to process all of the electronics and data extracted from the devices," Dickerson wrote. "At this time it is unknown how many images the defendant possesses but initial examination indicates that there are thousands of images of child pornography on his device."
Because at least one of the photos depicted a child less than 12, Stevens is facing a Level 4 felony. The remaining charges are two Level 5 and one Level 6 penalties. Level 6 is the lowest level felony.
Earlier this month, another investigation by ICAC and local law enforcement led to the arrest of a Zionsville attorney, Steven Kasyjanski on similar charges of child pornography. Officials believe there is no connection between the two cases.
