Bail set for Thiensville man charged with possession of child porn

OZAUKEE COUNTY -- Ozaukee County Sheriff's officials say 46-year-old Carl Johnson of Thiensville was arrested and charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography Monday, June 25th. Johnson, who works as a handyman, was arrested following a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Johnson made his first court appearance Tuesday, June 26th. A judge set bail at $50,000, and ordered Johnson have no access to the internet.

Officials executed a search warrant on Johnson's residence Monday morning after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children found a child porn website that traced back to Johnson. A state task force alerted the Ozaukee County Sheriff's Office who arrested Johnson.

Inside Johnson's Thiensville home, officials say they found a hard drive with 31 pornographic pictures. Officials say Johnson registered three websites and used them to upload child pornography.

"Even though these images might not be of people or children who are known to us or local, the accessing of the images, the paying for the images are what keeps this industry going, and the industry is abusing and exploiting children," Ozaukee County Sheriff's Lt. Rodney Galbraith said.

10 of the photos are described in the criminal complaint in the case. In each of them is a naked underage girl in a suggestive pose.

No one answered the door at Johnson's listed address when FOX6 News stopped by Monday.

"I don't have many memories of him. I just know he's lived there as long as I've lived here. He seemed like a pretty nice guy, so not anything bad about him," a neighbor said.

Outside Johnson's home Monday was a trailer with the logo of Johnson's home improvement business.

Officials say Johnson is being held in the Ozaukee County Jail, and their investigation is ongoing.

"The kind of case that I believe the public, our community and the officers that are investigating are motivated to try to solve," Lt. Galbraith said.

Lt. Galbraith told FOX6 News Ozaukee County Sheriff's officials are working with national authorities to find the victims in Johnson's pictures. Lt. Galbraith said the Johnson's arrest alone is significant.

"It's important to investigate these and try to do what we can to put that industry out of business," Lt. Galbraith said.

Johnson faces up to 25 years in prison for each of the 10 counts.

Police say this remains an open investigation. Lt. Galbraith said he wanted to make an arrest as soon as there was enough evidence.

Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this developing story.