WAUSAU — A 32- year-old Weston man is facing criminal charges after allegedly uploading and trading thousands of graphic child pornography images through a peer-to-peer file sharing network.
Jacob Wilharms had 13,153 images and 355 videos depicting child pornography on two encrypted hard drives in his Alex Street home, according to the criminal complaint. The children depicted in the scenes ranged in age from 5 to 12 years old.
Police searched Wilharms’ home on May 2 as part of a peer-to-peer file sharing investigation, according to the criminal complaint. While peer-to-peer (P2P) networks are used by many people who like to share music, graphics, images and movies, they are also commonly used by offenders to share child pornography.
While his home was being searched, Wilharms told investigators he only downloaded adult pornography and that any child pornography on his computer would have been accidental. Police did find 351 adult pornographic videos in Wilharms’ files in addition to the illegal content, according to the criminal complaint. A P2P file sharing program was in use when investigators searched the home, police said.
Wilharms was released after he was questioned, and investigators spent the next several weeks combing through files to identify images and videos of child sexual abuse. Charges were filed Monday, Sept. 11 in Marathon County Circuit Court.
Wilharms appeared Monday for an initial appearance on 20 counts of possession of child pornography and a single charge of child sexual exploitation. He was released after posting a $500 cash bond and is due in court Sept. 20 for a preliminary hearing. Wilharms faces up to 540 years in prison if he is convicted on all charges.
