Pettus arrested on charge of possession of child pornography
A tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline led to the August arrest of a Graham man. Jeremy Pettus, 47, was arrested Friday, Aug. 19 on the alleged charge of possession of child pornography.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed with the Young County Justice of the Peace, Pct. 1, Graham Police Department received the initial tip. Texas Ranger Michael Schraub with the Department of Public Safety began assisting in the child pornography investigation Monday, July 11.
The affidavit, filed by DPS, states NCMEC was informed through a tip from a Dropbox employee of a user with “prepubescent child pornography” on their account. The account was identified by an email address, later found to be associated with Pettus.
Schraub viewed the video associated with the CT-Report and determined that it depicted a minor female, who was completely nude, and included the appearance of the minor acting in a sexual manner.
During the investigation, it was found that the email associated with the Dropbox account was used with an IP address, a numeric designation that identifies its location on the internet, at Pettus’ home. The phone number on the associated email account was also found to belong to Pettus.
A search warrant was obtained to seize the data associated with the Dropbox account which was accessed using Pettus’ email address. The data included over 50 videos and several still images of children who appeared to be between 10 and 12 years old appearing to engage in acts of a sexual manner.
The file activity showed the data was accessed Friday, May 6. The report indicated that “videos were deleted then it appeared the same images were added back to the account.”
A separate search warrant was obtained and served at Pettus’ home Thursday, Aug. 18. During an interview while the warrant was served, Pettus stated he lived alone at the address and his seized phone matched the phone number found to be associated with the email address. The phone also included information regarding access of the email address and Dropbox account.
Pettus was released Saturday, Aug. 20 from the Young County Jail on a $15,000 bond. Due to the felony complaint, the case will be referred to the 90th Judicial District Attorney’s office for further action.
