FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) – A Fayetteville man was arrested on suspicion of downloading child pornography over the course of nine years, authorities say.
Jeremy Meredith, 25, was booked into the Washington County Detention Center on Jan. 7 at 10:08 a.m., according to jail records. He faces a charge of distributing, possessing or viewing child porn, jail records state.
In December 2013, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agents assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force identified a computer in Arkansas that was engaged in distributing child porn online, according to court documents.
The computer, tracked through its IP address, was found to be maintained by Cox Communications. Cox identified the subscriber using the IP address and gave the agents the subscriber’s address, court documents state.
On Feb. 11, 2014, the agents obtained a search warrant for the residence of Prentice Meredith (Jeremy Meredith’s father) in the 400 block of Claybrook Drive in Farmington, according to court documents.
Prentice Meredith told authorities where they could find his son, and they found him living at 2044 N. E. Oaks Dr. in Fayetteville, court documents state.
When agents arrived at the Fayetteville residence, they received permission from Jeremy Meredith to search his Toshiba laptop, according to court documents. A search revealed child porn on the computer, and he confessed to downloading child porn for nine years, court documents state.
The laptop was seized, and a warrant for further examination of the computer was sought. On Feb. 25, 2014, that warrant was granted, according to court documents.
After further searching the computer, agents found a total of 42 images depicting child porn, court documents state.
On Dec. 30, 2014, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Jeremy Meredith, and he was later taken into custody, according to court documents.
Officials set his bond at $25,000, and his first hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 9, jail records state.
