ANDERSON, Ind. —
Anderson police and the FBI cyber crime division headed an investigation of child exploitation and possession of child pornography by Daniel E. Ward, who had an initial hearing Monday.
Ward, 47, surrendered himself to police Friday and remains in custody after the hearing. The joint task force of Detective Mike Anderson and FBI agents found evidence Ward was accessing websites containing child pornography from his home’s IP address on three occasions from late 2011 to early 2012, according to court documents.
His Circuit 1 Court trial date has not been determined, nor has the judge for the case. Bail was set by Judge Stephen Clase at $50,000 full cash only.
The task force used a Peer-to-Peer program in the investigation of Ward, which began in 2011, according to Anderson Police Department spokesman Joel Sandefur. The program uses connections between computers to detect and track pedophiles and suspicious behavior on the Internet.
A website depicting child pornography was accessed at Ward’s home in the 2300 block of Chase Street, Dec. 7, 2011, according to the probable cause affidavit. The website was visited again Dec. 14, 2011. Authorities obtained a warrant to search Ward’s home on Jan. 21, 2012. Anderson police, who had been leading the investigation along with the FBI, executed the warrant and found a 50-minute video showing child pornography on Ward’s computer, according to the report.
Child exploitation is a Class C felony and carries a minimum of two years and maximum of eight years time served. Possession of child pornography is a Class D felony with a jail term of six months to three years. Clase warned Ward during the initial hearing that, if convicted, he could be serving the sentences consecutively rather than all at once.
Ward also has a charge of aggravated sexual battery pending in Campbell County, Tenn., and is on probation for failure to pay child support in 2009.
Find Jack Molitor on Facebook and @J4keSteel on Twitter, or call 640-4883.
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