Hawleyville Man Arrested On Child Porn Charges

By Andrew Gorosko

A Hawleyville man was being held on $250,000 bail this week at the Bridgeport Correctional Center, following his April 13 arrest and arraignment on three child pornography charges, two of which are felonies and one a misdemeanor.

On the morning of Friday, April 13, state police detectives from the computer crimes unit, aided by town police, served a search-and-seizure warrant at the home of Edward F. Wilson, 28, of 12 Hillcrest Drive, where they “seized several items of evidentiary value,” according to a statement from state police spokesman Lieutenant J. Paul Vance.

State police arrested Wilson on charges of first degree possession of child pornography and promoting a minor in an obscene performance, both of which are felonies. State police also charged Wilson with obscenity, which is a misdemeanor.

State police then held Wilson on $100,000 bail for an arraignment on the charges later that day in Danbury Superior Court.

In February, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) sent several reports to the state police for investigation, according to Lt Vance.

NCMEC reported that a person appeared to be e-mailing files of suspected child pornography, after which state police started an investigation into the matter and tracked such activity to the address of 12 Hillcrest Drive, according to Lt Vance.

State police then obtained the search-and-seizure warrant from court to obtain evidence there, he said.

On April 13, state police at the residence examined seized items and found more than 300 digital image files of suspected child pornography, the lieutenant said in the statement.

Wilson was then transported to state police’s Troop A barracks in Southbury for arrest processing.

At his court arraignment, at which he pleaded not guilty to all three charges, a judge increased Wilson’s bail to $250,000. Unless bail is posted for Wilson, he would remain a prisoner.

Wilson’s case has been assigned to a public defender for legal representation. Wilson is next scheduled to appear in court on May 8.

Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe said April 16 that the joint investigation into Wilson’s activities by state police and town police is continuing.

“We are following up with other leads found during the execution of the search-and-seizure warrant,” Chief Kehoe said.

Wilson’s arrest on April 13 was based on police’s observations made that day at Wilson’s home, Chief Kehoe said, noting that police only had a search-and-seizure warrant before they arrested Wilson, rather than a conventional arrest warrant.

The police chief declined further comment on the case.