Man suspected in child pornography case arrested
A Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force investigation ended in the arrest of a 27-year-old Columbia man on suspicion of first-degree promotion of child pornography Thursday, marking the 13th arrest since the task force’s January inception, Detective Andy Anderson said.
Columbia police arrested Richard A. Tillerson at his home in the 1700 block of Oxford Drive at 10:10 a.m.
Anderson said that once an IP address linked to child pornography was traced to Columbia by several law enforcement agencies across the country, task force detectives were able to identify the computer the files were on.
On June 4, police searched Tillerson’s home and seized his computer and several CDs, Anderson said. Tillerson’s computer contained 38 videos showing the sexual molestation of children, some of whom were preteens, Anderson said, adding there was no indication that Tillerson was involved in making the pornographic videos.
Tillerson was being held in the Boone County Jail on Thursday afternoon in lieu of $25,000 bond.