Cooper
A Greenwood man has been sentenced for possessing thousands of child sexual abuse images.
Aaron Cooper, 39, pled guilty and was sentenced Thursday on a charge of possession of child pornography, a Level 5 felony. The hearing took place before Johnson Superior Court 2 Judge Peter Nugent, according to a Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office news release.
Cooper will serve a total sentence of four years, with one year to be served at the Indiana Department of Correction followed by three years of active probation. While on probation, Cooper is required to complete a sex offender evaluation and treatment, and will be subject to special sex offender terms of probation. In addition, he will be required to register as a sex offender for life, prosecutors say.
Detectives with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office became aware of Cooper after a family member found child sexual abuse images on devices in a home. Evidence was turned over to detectives, who handled the ensuing investigation.
After forensically reviewing the devices and storage cards that belonged to Cooper, thousands of nude images and videos of children were found. Some images of children were believed to be around the age of 5, and some images showed them participating in sexual acts or being in provocative positions, court documents show.
Prosecutors say Cooper cooperated with the investigation and has admitted that he had a problem.
“Possession of child pornography is a despicable crime,” said Lance Hamner, Johnson County Prosecutor, in the news release. “We are pleased that the judge sent this man to jail.”
“Children who are used in pornography are victims of horrific sexual abuse and making pictures and videos of the abuse compounds the damage exponentially. Moreover, we know from research in this area that most child molesters start out viewing child pornography and then move on to physically hurting children. Even first offenders who merely possess child pornography, as in this case, should still get jail time. Everyone knows it’s wrong. There is no excuse,” Hamner added.
