The Kentucky State Police (KSP) Electronic Crime Branch arrested a Whitley County man Friday in connection with a child sexual abuse material investigation.
About 3:27 p.m., KSP located, interviewed and arrested Pierce Hamblin, 47.
“Hamblin was interviewed as the result of an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) investigation. The KSP Electronic Crime Branch began the investigation after receiving a complaint that the suspect was secretly recording juveniles inside of his residence,” according to a KSP release.
Hamblin was arrested and charged with three counts of promoting a sexual performance by a minor under 16 years old, two counts of promoting a sexual performance by a minor under the age of 18 years old, and one count of possession of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor over the age of 12 but under the age of 18 years old.
Promoting a sexual performance by a minor under the age of 16 is a Class ‘B’ felony punishable by 10-20 years in prison. Promoting a sexual performance by minor under the age of 18 is a Class ‘C’ felony punishable by 5-10 years in prison. Possession of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor over the age of 12 but under the age of 18 years old is a Class ‘D’ felony punishable by 1-5 years in prison.
The investigation is still ongoing.
Hamblin was lodged in the Whitley County Detention Center. As of 11 a.m. Monday, the detention center’s website indicated that Hamblin was being held without bond.
The Kentucky Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force is comprised of more than 26 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
The mission of the ICAC Task Force, created by the United States Department of Justice and administrated by the Kentucky State Police, is to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in developing a response to cyber-enticement and child sexual abuse material investigations. This support encompasses forensic and investigative components, training and technical assistance, victim services, prevention and community education.
The ICAC program was developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the internet, the proliferation of child sexual abuse material and the heightened online activity of predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims.
