Greencastle man arrested on child porn charge

Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 6:07 AM

A Greencastle man found himself behind bars in the Putnam County Jail on charges of child porn after an investigation by the Lebanon Police and the Boone County Child Abuse and Sexual Explotation Task Force.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Bruce A. Campbell, 52, Greencastle, is charged with a Level 4 felony of possessing and viewing child pornography stemming from a tip the Boone County CASE Task Force received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Cyber Tipline Report. After obtaining a search warrant to view the report, law enforcement found a video containing what appeared to be a "prepubescent minor male" engaging in sexual acts with what appeared to be an adult male. According to law enforcement officials, the person in the video appeared to be under the age of 12.

Through an investigation, police also obtained a search warrant for Campbell's house, and confiscated a cell phone that is believed to have several child pornography videos on it as well.

"Some of the videos involved minor victims that appeared to be under the age of 12 years of age," the probable cause states.

During questioning with police, Campbell admitted to using X, which is formerly known as Twitter, to watch pornography.

"Bruce advised that the porn is "mostly" adult porn, but that he has watched child pornography on Twitter (X) as well. Bruce told me the that the ages of the children on the child pornography he watches varies from 5-13 years of age," the affidavit reads.

Campbell admitted to police he has received child pornography and has sent child pornography to people while at his Greencastle residence. He told police that when he received a file he saved them in a locked folder in his phone. Campbell also stated he used an application called Telegram to exchange child pornography.

On Monday, Campbell appeared for his initial hearing in the Putnam County Courthouse and was appointed a public defender as well as learning he is being held on a $25,000 cash only bond. He is slated to return to court in July for a pre-trial conference.