At approximately 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12, Upper Arlington police raided the south Columbus home of Daniel Scott Fowler, 39, expecting to find child pornography.
They found much more, according to police, including four or five girls ages 12 to 17 and hidden cameras in the bathroom and around the pool area.
Fowler had been identified by Officer John Priest, the Upper Arlington Police Division's computer forensics examiner, as a potential distributor of child pornography over the Internet in November.
Priest, as part of the Internet Crimes Against Children task force, said he sought a warrant to search Fowler's home after he encountered him a second time on the Internet in July.
"When we originally identified him, we put him on for further investigation because we had other suspects (we were pursuing)," said Priest.
"When we found him back on in July," we began the process of procuring a search warrant.
"We were able to download child pornography he was presenting in November and again in July," said Priest.
Priest said the videos involved, "pre-teen children involved in sexual acts."
He declined to divulge where he encountered Fowler, for purposes pertaining to other or future investigations.
Police arrived at Fowler's Owsley Drive home and found him at home with the girls, some of whom were daughters of relatives, police said.
Hidden cameras were discovered while officers searched the home, said Priest, adding, "He was arrested about an hour and a half later."
According to Priest, most of the girls' parents have been notified. Priest said neither the girls nor their parents said they had any idea they might be being videotaped.
Priest said four computers were confiscated along with more than 100 videotapes and a few hundred digital video disks.
Priest, who along with officer Brian Correll makes up Upper Arlington's computer forensics department, said going through all that evidence will take time.
"We're still in the beginning process of the investigation," said Priest.
"It's probably going to take over 100 (hours). It's hard to tell until we get into it quite honestly."
Fowler has been charged with two counts of possession and dissemination of child pornography and one count of creating sexually oriented content involving a minor.
All three counts are second degree felonies and all three come with a maximum 8-year prison sentence and a $15,000 fine.
Fowler, who was working for the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System, was released from the Franklin County Jail after his bond was paid.
Reply With Quote
5 Member(s) thanked for this post
Bookmarks