Iowa State University freshman Nicholas Lahr was arrested at his campus dormitory room March 31 for the alleged possession of child pornography on his personal computer.
Lahr was released from custody after posting a $30,000 bond on charges of four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, which is an aggravated misdemeanor. He faces a maximum sentence of less than two years in prison and a fine ranging from $500 to $5,000 for each of the four counts of possession.
According to Captain of Special Operations Gene Deisinger, one of his detectives ran a keyword search on the university system March 12 to search for pornography; the search returned Lahr’s shared folder.
“It was kind of ironic, actually. My detective had just told me that he had not run a check on the system for quite some time and that he was going to do it that day. Within a minute he had a hit for child pornography, which was later traced to Mr. Lahr,” Deisinger said.
Because information stored on the university network is available to the public, detectives were not required to obtain a warrant to search the contents of the shared folder. After finding pictures of what appeared to be child pornography, police obtained and completed a search warrant for Lahr’s residence March 13. Three images and a digital movie of minors engaging in sexual activity were found.
Lahr voluntarily gave a statement about the images in question. He is currently scheduled to appear in court in Story County, Iowa.
This case is one of five child-pornography cases at Iowa State University in the last year.
Capt. Deisinger stresses that this high number does not reflect an increased amount of pornographic activity at ISU, but only that his office is more aggressive in detecting the illegal acts. For example, in recent years he has taken significant steps in applying computer forensics examinations and training for Internet, software, and hardware use. His department has become educated in the psychology of child pornographers in hopes of locating and controlling the problem.
Deisinger hopes that by being very public with these recent cases, he will educate people about the abundance of child pornography and the ramifications of its possession.
Deisinger attributes his increased knowledge to the high-profile case earlier this year involving ISU student Jason Lighthall.
“The volume — nearly 7,000 pornographic images — and depth of the promotion of illegal materials forced my office to seek federal help,” Deisinger said.
The United States Postal Inspector Service has become increasingly involved in controlling the display and transmission of pornography. The problem is growing at an alarming rate.
A national surveillance company conducted a study monitoring a popular file-sharing network for three weeks. It was found that 42 percent of all information requests were for pornographic material and 97 percent of the requests could result in a criminal suit for felony-level offenses or sexual harassment.
Many people question the crime’s status as a felony. However, according to Capt. Deisinger, “By individuals sharing these images with the public, it is creating a market for this activity. And that is when some innocent child is going to get hurt.”
