Brendan Joshua Meredith of Mountain Home changed his plea to guilty on child pornography charges filed against him and was given 10 years in prison during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday.
The 36-year-old Meredith faced 14 counts of distributing, possession or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Meredith’s arrest stemmed from an investigation initiated earlier this year by special agents of the Arkansas State Police. Investigators allege in a period from March 4th until March 8th, an Internet Protocol (IP) address located at a residence along South College Street was found to be active in the sharing of child pornography.
On April 23rd, investigators served a search warrant at the South College Street address and took various electronic devices, including computer towers, cellphones and a laptop. The items were taken to the State Police Headquarters in Little Rock where a forensic examination was done on the equipment showing downloaded sexually explicit images involving children.
The forensic examination resulted in the retrieval of approximately 6,000 videos. Investigators pulled seven pictures and seven videos depicting explicit sexual activity involving children.
The state also seized the electronic equipment taken when the search warrant was served, and it is being forfeited to the state.
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