Navy petty officer charged with child porn possession
A Norwich man is due to make his first appearance Tuesday in the New London court where major crimes are tried on charges that he downloaded 125 videos containing images of young children engaged in sexually explicit activity.
Casey L. Bryant, 29, of Thermos Ave., Unit 310, Norwich, was charged in December with first-degree possession of child pornography. He posted a $100,000 bond and hired defense attorney John D. Maxwell, according to court records.
State trooper David Aresco of the Computer Crimes and Electronic Evidence Laboratory came across video files of suspected child pornography while conducting a routine internet search of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing networks, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Peer-to-peer software allows users to download and share files. The investigator was able to see the IP (Internet Protocol) address from which the files were downloaded and determine the internet provider was Comcast. He obtained a court order to learn the user's identify.
Once the trooper learned Bryant's identify and address, he obtained a warrant to search his apartment and executed it with assistance from Norwich police and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, according to the affidavit. Bryant is a petty officer, 2nd Class, assigned to the Naval Submarine Base in Groton.
The investigators seized Bryant's laptop computer and a thumb drive, and Bryant provided a password to un-encrypt the thumb drive. He told Aresco that he had been downloading child pornography for a couple of months, that he did it out of curiosity and that he had never had sexual contact with a child.
The thumb drive contained 125 videos of suspected child pornography that depicted mostly female children, approximately 2 to 12 years old, engaged in sexually explicit acts with adults and other children, according to the affidavit. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reviewed some of the material on the thumb drive and found that 42 of the video files contained at least one child previously identified by law enforcement, according to the affidavit. The center will be conducting a further review.
Bryant enlisted in the Navy in January 2006 and works as an information systems technician.
"The Navy is aware of the charges pending against Petty Officer Casey Bryant, a sailor currently assigned to Naval Submarine Support Center New London," said Chief Petty Officer Steve Owsley, spokesman for waterfront operations at the submarine base. "The Navy takes sailor misconduct very seriously no matter where it takes place. We maintain high standards for our personnel and hold those who fall short accountable. We are cooperating with local authorities as they investigate the matter."