By Shereen Siewert
A tip from Google about sexually explicit photos allegedly stored on its servers led to 11 felony charges against a Wausau-area man after an investigation by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
James Siddons, 54, of Schofield, faces 11 counts of possession of child pornography in a case filed April 5 in Marathon County Circuit Court.
The material was reported Oct. 15 to local officials, who traced the photos and videos to Siddons’ account, according to court documents. Wisconsin Dept. of Justice officials sent local investigators four video files, which were later secured into evidence at the Everest Metro Police Department. The files sent included a video of a toddler being sexually assaulted by an adult, court documents show.
Police obtained a warrant on Dec. 9 to search Google files for additional material allegedly stored by Siddons, and then searched his home on April 4., the day he was arrested. Charges were filed one day later.
During an initial appearance April 5, Circuit Judge Scott Corbett set a $25,000 cash bond for Siddons, who remains behind bars as of April 11. A pretrial conference is set for Thursday.
