Police department employee allegedly found with thousands of child porn images

A communications technician with the Columbus Police Department’s 911 emergency center was found with thousands of child pornography images, according to testimony Thursday morning in Columbus Recorder’s Court.

Timothy Dale Turner, 28, of Columbus pleaded not guilty to five counts of sexual exploitation of children. He was ordered held in the Muscogee County Jail under bonds totaling $75,000.

Judge Julius Hunter bound the case over to Superior Court.

Columbus Police Detective Amanda Hogan said Homeland Security contacted her in late January to speak with her about an IP address in their jurisdiction that showed up on the radar for child pornography. They asked that the police department assist, but clarified that Homeland Security would lead the investigation.

Homeland Security informed Hogan in early February that the IP address was linked to Turner’s home at 406 39th St. After further investigation, Hogan learned that Turner worked as a communications technician with the Columbus Police Department’s 911 emergency center for about a year and six months.

Hogan said she immediately notified an agent with Homeland Security. The agent said he had given the Georgia Bureau of Investigation evidence of child pornography that was downloaded using the IP address associated with Turner’s residence.

Officials waited for more evidence before obtaining a search warrant. Homeland Security and Columbus police searched his home and electronics around 6:05 a.m. Tuesday.

Homeland Security found thousands of child pornography images downloaded on Turner’s computer, according to police.

Hogan said she decided to charge Turner after receiving five downloads of child pornography from the defendant. The victims in the video were all under the age of 10, the detective testified.

They located Turner at the home and had him conduct a polygraph test, which Hogan said he failed. They went on to conduct an in-depth interview with Turner in which he admitted twice to downloading child pornography for the several years.

“He also admitted that there was a possibility of what we call contact offender, where he possibly had spoke to a child in the past,” Hogan told the court. “That’s still under investigation.”

Columbus police have yet to clarify Turner’s employment status with the department.

This story was originally published February 23, 2017 at 11:13 AM with the headline "Police department employee allegedly found with thousands of child porn images."