A 30-year-old Central City man made his first appearance in Marion County Court Wednesday on ten counts of child pornography.
The charges against Jason Howard of South Harrison Street accused him of having still and video of children unclothed or involved in sex acts that appear under the age of 13. All the charges state the child pornography was in his possession on April 23rd, 2022 following a search warrant for his electronic devices.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Detective Bobby Wallace says the investigation began after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alerted on photos Howard allegedly had put into Facebook messenger. Wallace says the case took so long to process because of the length of time it takes Facebook to respond to search warrants which is related to the large number they receive.
State’s Attorney Tim Hudspeth said he did not seek to detain Howard pending further court action due to the age of the investigation. However, his pre-trial release does not allow him to have a firearm or dangerous weapon, no contact with anyone under 18 and no internet capable devices.
Howard is due back in court on the ten Class Two felony charges on February 7th for a preliminary hearing.
