FLORENCE, Ky. — A Florence man was arrested on charges related to the possession of child pornography, the Boone County Sheriff's Office said.
54-year-old Ralph G. Britton was arrested Thursday at his place of employment in Richwood, the sheriff's office said. Britton has been charged with possession of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor. Britton was held at the Boone County Detention Center but was released after posting a $50,000 cash bond.
The sheriff's office said detectives received a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) on Jan. 26.
NCMEC's report said a technology company responsible for Verizon’s cloud services discovered more than 30 videos depicting child pornography on their servers. The uploaded videos were allegedly linked to a Verizon phone number assigned to Britton, the sheriff's office said.
"This was one of the worst ones that we've had in a couple of years," said Sgt. Anthony Theetge with the Boone County Sheriff's Office.
Detectives used a search warrant to collect additional information, such as the model number of the device with child porn, from the technology company. After Britton's arrest, they seized several electronic items, including his cell phone, the sheriff's office said.
Detectives found that Britton's phone had the number provided in the NCMEC report as well as the model number obtained from the technology company.
"Nowadays, it's really common to see these partnerships between technology, law enforcement," said Dr. Roberta O'Malley, an assistant professor of Criminology at the University of South Florida.
O'Malley said technology has also made it easier for this type of material to spread.
"These images can be widely disseminated for just long periods of time," she said. "So an image that has been shared can be reshared very quickly. It can be altered. It can be shared through these different forums and websites and applications."
Britton is next set to be in front of the grand jury. No date has been set for that court appearance yet.
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