MONROE COUNTY - MARCH 7, 2023 - On Tuesday, March 3, 2023, Troopers and Detectives with the Indiana State Police Bloomington District and the ISP Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) served search warrants in Ellettsville relating to a child pornography investigation.
File photo
The investigation started in September of 2022 when Sgt. Chris Fears and ICAC Detective Robert Whyte received 22 National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) cyber tips relating to child pornography. The cyber tips advised that an unknown individual was distributing child pornography on the social media applications, Discord and Twitter.
Detective Whyte and Sgt. Fears were able to locate the suspect through the social media account and identified him as Billy W. Arnold, a 24-year-old male who at the time of the incidents resided in Martinsville. Detectives were able to locate Arnold after he moved to Ellettsville earlier this year and interviewed him while ISP Forensic Examiners completed a simultaneous phone extraction. The phone device is still being processed, but due to his interview, Arnold was arrested and transported to Morgan County Jail for the following charges,
· Four (4) Counts of Distribution of Child Pornography Under 12 Years Old, Level 4 Felony
· Four (4) Counts of Distribution of Child Pornography Under 12 Years Old, Level 5 Felony
Assisting ISP ICAC detectives were Trooper Cody Brown, ISP Bloomington District Detectives, Ellettsville Police Department, and Morgan County Sheriff Department.
Anyone having any information related to crimes against children is encouraged to contact their local law enforcement agency or visit the NCMEC website at http://www.missingkids.com/home and find the link to make a CYBERTIPLINE report.
An arrest photo may be obtained from the Morgan County Jail.
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