A Connecticut man was arrested after state police searched his home last month and allegedly found child pornography,
A Connecticut man was arrested Tuesday after state police searched his home last month and allegedly found child pornography that included images that show him involved in a sex act with a child.
Ross DeLibro, 53, of Shelton, faces one count each of employing a minor in an obscene performance, promoting a minor in an obscene performance and first-degree possession of child pornography, according to Connecticut State Police.
State police said he was taken into custody at his residence and transported to Troop I in Bethany. DeLibro was held on $250,000 and was expected to be arraigned Wednesday in Derby Superior Court.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, members of the state police Computer Crimes Unit began investigating in January after learning that nine videos of suspected child pornography were allegedly downloaded from a computer using an IP address believed to be in the Shelton area. The computer was believed to be accessing a peer-to-peer file sharing network, the warrant affidavit said.
According to the warrant affidavit, one of the videos allegedly showed a man with a child who appeared to be between 7 and 10 years old.
A member of the Computer Crimes Unit who was also assigned to Homeland Security Investigations obtained a subpoena in April that allegedly led investigators to a link between the IP address used during the downloads and DeLibro, the warrant affidavit said.
Authorities later obtained a search and seizure warrant for DeLibro’s home on April 30 and carried out the search the next day, according to the warrant affidavit.
Investigators interviewed DeLibro the day of the search and, when they asked about his employment, he said he served as a “childcare provider to three families,” the warrant affidavit said.
He also allegedly told investigators that he “may have a few” files containing child pornography on his computer, but that he “usually just goes to websites to view it,” according to the warrant affidavit.
State police along with members of the Shelton Police Department searched DeLibro’s home and reportedly seized two computers, a hard drive, an iPad and iPhone and 28 optical discs, the warrant affidavit said.
State police alleged that an analysis of the seized property showed that the nine file downloads that prompted the investigation were “likely downloaded from a USB drive that had been plugged into a computer belonging to DeLibro.” State police said they allegedly also found 30 image files and one video file that were considered child pornography.
Two of the images “appear to have been produced by” DeLibro, as they show him with a young juvenile, according to state police. Investigators were able to identify the juvenile victim.
State police said their investigation remains “active and ongoing.”
