Shepherdsville man arrested after police say repair shop found child pornography on his computer | Crime Reports
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Police explained a Shepherdsville gentleman who took his pc to a regional repair store wound up in jail immediately after the shop’s operator learned kid pornography on the product.
In accordance to court paperwork, 66-12 months-old Richard Mertz was arrested Friday afternoon by the Shepherdsville Law enforcement Section.
Police said times earlier, on March 13, Mertz took his computer to Ferguson Computers, a Shepherdsville laptop or computer maintenance shop, and questioned them to transfer desktop documents to his new hard travel.
When the repair service shop owner was transferring the data files, he came cross youngster pornography visuals, in accordance to court docket documents.
Law enforcement had been known as, and an officer was equipped to verify that the photos had been without a doubt youngster pornography.
Christine Ferguson is vice president of Ferguson Computers and reported she’s traumatized by what she observed on Mertz’s personal computer.
“You happen to be under no circumstances well prepared to see photos like that, but in particular with how blatant they ended up,” she stated. “I signify, I have been physically unwell above what I noticed. I have misplaced snooze, I cry just randomly. It is really some thing that stays with you.”
Ferguson explained her team realized promptly what to do.
“There was certainly no questioning what was happening in these shots,” she claimed. “The youngsters in these shots had been less than the age of 10. And there was absolutely no query that we ended up likely to involve the law enforcement.”
Ferguson supplied WDRB with a surveillance image showing Mertz dropping off his pc at her personal computer fix store.
“He did precisely talked about, ‘I want what is on the desktop. I want 50 pics from the computer,'” she explained. “I will be sincere: we didn’t have crimson flags until we booted up the laptop or computer.”
Pam Darnall, the president and CEO of Spouse and children and Children’s Location applauded Ferguson’s actions.
“That person did a beautiful work of realizing promptly, ‘This is not correct. I have to simply call anyone,'” she explained.
She added that Kentucky and Indiana are also obligatory reporting states.
“In essence what that usually means is each adult in Indiana and Kentucky, if we see something that will make us suspicious, that it could it’s possible be youngster abuse or neglect, we are actually demanded by law to report it,” she explained.
A warrant was issued for Mertz’s arrest Thursday, and he was arrested Friday afternoon at his house. He is billed with six counts of possession of make any difference portraying a sexual efficiency by a insignificant.
He’s now becoming held in the Bullitt County Detention Centre.
Ferguson explained she’s however disturbed by the pictures, but she’s happy Mertz is off the avenue.
“I felt a bodily change…when the detective told me that he’d been arrested and he was taken to jail,” she reported.
If you have facts about probable kid abuse in Kentucky, simply call the abuse hotline at 1-877-597-2331. In Indiana, phone 1-800-800-5556.
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