FLORENCE–Authorities have arrested a man they say was disseminating and producing child pornography.

According to police, in December of 2016, Detective Drew Harless with the Florence Police Department received a ‘cyber-tip’ involving the unlawful dissemination of child pornography. That tip led to a search warrant being issued and executed at [...]]]>

Jeffrey Dale Hunt

FLORENCE–Authorities have arrested a man they say was disseminating and producing child pornography.

According to police, in December of 2016, Detective Drew Harless with the Florence Police Department received a ‘cyber-tip’ involving the unlawful dissemination of child pornography. That tip led to a search warrant being issued and executed at the home of Jeffery Dale Hunt, 50.

Items collected in the execution of the warrant were forensically tested with the assistance of the Alabama Department of Revenue Digital Forensics group and revealed evidence that Mr. Hunt was in possession of child pornography and was actively producing child pornography in his home.

The Florence Police Department was notified in March of 2017 that the Lauderdale County Grand Jury has returned an indictment against Jeffery Dale Hunt, 48, of 243 Wilson Avenue, Florence, AL. The indictment charges Hunt with 1,996 counts of Unlawful Possession of Child Pornography and 295 counts of Unlawful Production of
Child Pornography.

The Florence Police Department was notified Thursday, that the Lauderdale County Grand Jury has returned an indictment against Jeffery Dale Hunt after further investigations and a detailed inspection of the electronics that were discovered during the search warrant. With the additional indictments, Mr. Hunt is being charged
with a total of 4,378 counts of Unlawful Possession of Child Pornography and 2,169 counts of Unlawful Production of Child Pornography. He is charged with a total of 6,547 counts and has a bond set at $10,000,000 (cash only). He is currently in the Lauderdale County Detention Center.

Mr. Hunt was arrested without any incident with the assistance of the US Marshalls Warrant Task Force. Along the cash bond he is not to be around children, use the internet, or any device that will allow him to contact or look at children.

In December of 2016 the Florence Police Department joined the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. Through this partnership with law enforcement agencies throughout the state, detectives receive ‘tips’ on illicit activity involving the exploitation of children. This case highlights the importance of the task force.

Unlawful Possession of Child Pornography is a Class C felony, punishable by incarceration of 1 year and 1 day to 10 years in prison.

Unlawful Production of Child Pornography is a Class A felony, punishable by incarceration of 10 years to life in prison.

This case is one of several high profile investigations conducted by Florence Police Department detectives over the last 18 months. Each case involved the exploitation and sexual abuse of children. It is clear that there are predators among us in this digital world that we live in. The Florence Police Department, through partnerships
like ICAC and the Alabama Department of Revenue Digital Forensics group, continues to invest resources in seeking out, investigating, and arresting those who chose to prey on our children.

According to police, their message is clear. If you engage in the exploitation of children; We will seek you out, We will bring you to justice, We will protect our children.

BIRMINGHAM – Federal prosecutors on Tuesday charged a former University of Alabama music professor with receiving and possessing child pornography, announced officials. The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a two-count information charging NIKOS PAPPAS, 41, of Tuscaloosa, with receiving child pornography on a computer at his residence between January 2014 and September [...]]]>

Nikos Pappas

BIRMINGHAM – Federal prosecutors on Tuesday charged a former University of Alabama music professor with receiving and possessing child pornography, announced officials.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a two-count information charging NIKOS PAPPAS, 41, of Tuscaloosa, with receiving child pornography on a computer at his residence between January 2014 and September 2016. The information also charges Pappas with possessing child pornography on a second computer, which was found in his university office, between January and September of 2016. Pappas is scheduled for arraignment June 15.
In conjunction with the charges, prosecutors also filed a plea agreement with Pappas. That agreement details Pappas’ receipt and possession of child pornography using the internet and computers.
According to the agreement, the laptop computer taken from Pappas’ home contained more than 100 videos of child pornography, some depicting sex acts with very young children, and Pappas’ second computer contained more than 150 images and at least 25 videos of child pornography.
The penalty for receiving child pornography is five to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for possessing child pornography is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney John B. Ward is prosecuting.