FORTVILLE, Ind. – A 24-year-old Fortville man was charged after police found over 25 files of child pornography in his possession.
Investigators said an investigation was opened after Indiana State Police detectives received two tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on Oct. 7, 2022.
A Snapchat user had uploaded child porn material to the platform according to a company records custodian.
The files submitted for review showed juvenile children performing sex acts with both adult men and women present.
Court documents explained the initial files found led to a search warrant granted for the home of the man who reportedly uploaded the files.
Through IP information and Google Analytics, police could track down the subscriber of the email account to Brandon Douglas Nelson, 24.
On March 15, 2023, detectives served the search warrant at Nelson’s apartment in Fortville. Nelson was also advised of his Miranda rights and agreed to an interview with police.
Nelson admitted to creating the Gmail account associated with the child porn uploads when he was 12 or 13 years old for “gaming purposes.”
He added that he had viewed child porn a “handful of times” through the Tumbler application. Nelson admitted that he had hidden applications on his phone but no hidden files.
According to the probable cause, police also found child porn material on an SD card seized from Nelson’s home and when asked if he had downloaded the images, he stated “Probably.”
A later report released in April showed child porn was found on three separate devices seized from Nelson’s home.
Investigators said additionally three devices found evidence that pornographic images and videos were saved but had since been deleted.
The probable cause then listed the over 25 files located across Nelson’s devices and descriptions of the sexual acts depicted. Authorities added thousands of more images and videos were recovered from the hard drive in Nelson’s possession.
Nelson was charged with 12 counts of child porn possession with an aggravating factor, Level 5 felony; and 13 counts of possession of child porn, Level 6 felony.
A jury trial was scheduled for April 16, 2024.
