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PrintCOLUMBIA — The Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force arrested a Columbia resident Monday morning in connection with a child pornography investigation.
Brian Michael Rufener, 38, was arrested on suspicion of two counts first-degree possession of child pornography and one count of promoting child pornography, according to a news release from the task force.
The task force's investigation began in late August when it received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the release stated.
The center has a system where people are able to report Internet abuse, task force coordinator Andy Anderson said.
The tip came from a complaint from *TinyPic.com, which stated that a user had uploaded a video showing sexual molestation of young child. By using the IP address of the computer, detectives with the Mid- Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force and the Boone County Sheriff's Department were able to track the computer that uploaded the video to Rufener, according to the news release.
On Sept. 13, detectives obtained Rufener's computer as well as numerous CDs, which contained evidence, according to the release. In a later examination, detectives “located over 53 videos and 23 photographs depicting the sexual molestation of children, some estimated to be as young as one year of age,” according to the news release.
As of Monday, Rufener was being held in the Boone County Jail on a $60,000 bond.
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