HANCOCK COUNTY — A New Palestine man has been arrested and charged in Alabama with multiple counts of child pornography.
Ian Thomas Kennedy, 31, New Palestine, was arrested Aug. 20 by officers from the Trussville Police Department in Alabama after an investigation there by multiple law enforcement agencies.
Kennedy has been charged with nearly two dozen counts. They include two counts of production of pornography with minors; 10 counts of dissemination/display of child pornography; and 10 counts of possession of child pornography, according to information from the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham, Alabama, where he was taken after his arrest.
“Any time we can get a guy like this off the streets, it’s a good day,” said Detective Ben Short of the Trussville Police Department.
Kennedy’s bond was set at $1.75 million, records show.
The Trussville Police Department, which is part of the Alabama Internet Crimes against Children Task Force, executed a search warrant at a home in that city last week, Short said.
Authorities were alerted to Kennedy after they received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Short said. According to arrest records, the crimes occurred on June 3, 4 and 5.
During a preliminary search of the residence, detectives located multiple electronic devices that contained pornographic images of prepubescent children, Short said.
The case is ongoing, and additional charges, including federal charges, may be added after the forensic analysis of the electronic devices is completed, Short said.
New Palestine High School officials said Kennedy graduated from there in 2006.
Kennedy had a New Palestine address on North Bittner Road as recently as June 2019, according to Hancock County records. Short said Kennedy was visiting a relative in Trussville for the summer when the crimes occurred. Trussville, which has a population of about 21,000, is a suburb of Birmingham.
Bob Ehle, chief of police for the New Palestine Police Department, said officials here have little additional information on Kennedy, who was often seen walking around town.
The only incident involving Kennedy and county law enforcement, other than a traffic ticket in 2018, was in 2006. Records show the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department was called to investigate a complaint of unwanted advances by Kennedy toward a minor, said Robert Harris, public information officer for the sheriff’s department. No charges were filed in that case.
Officials from the New Palestine Police Department have reached out to Alabama officials to offer assistance, Ehle said. The Alabama investigation will seek to determine whether any victims can be identified, Short said.
