Columbus man charged with computer porn, child exploitation after Snapchat search

An investigation by the Special Victims Unit at a Brighton Road home has led to computer pornography charges against a Columbus man, police said Thursday.

Douglas Joell Porter, 25, pleaded not guilty to five counts of computer pornography child exploitation charges during a 9 a.m. hearing in Recorder’s Court. Judge Julius Hunter ordered Porter held without bond on all charges and sent the cases to Muscogee Superior Court.

Columbus Police detective Amanda Hogan told the judge that the case will be turned over to the FBI and it will be in District Court.

The case started back in February after the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children alerted authorities to a Snapchat search while tracking child pornography with an IP address in the area.

Armed with a search warrant at 8:25 a.m. Tuesday, the Special Victims Unit searched a home in the 900 block of Brighton Road and found Porter. Police seized 10 cellphones and a laptop computer inside the home. A dropbox cloud also was found to store photos.

Hogan said 10 videos were found on a cellphone. Several showed 13- to 16-year-old girls. Some displayed photos of children engaged in sexual acts.

Items seized at the home have been turned over to the FBI.

“It will definitely be going federal,” the detective said.

This story was originally published August 23, 2018 at 12:00 AM.