FORT SMITH (KFSM) -- A Fort Smith man is facing child pornography charges and is accused of sending and receiving pictures of children on a phone app, according to the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators interviewed Kelly Riley in early January in an investigation involving the exchange of child sexual abuse material. Riley was having a conversation on an app called KIK with Jerry Pitchford under the the username Jrich7777777. Riley was arrested Jan. 5 on suspicion of child pornography charges.
The conversation consisted of the two discussing acts of child molestation with both boys and girls. Riley sent two pictures of toddlers being raped to Pitchford, according to an arrest report.
The report states Pitchford a picture of a 12-year-old girl to Riley. After the picture was sent, they discussed how Pitchford would like Riley to meet the girl, and that he might be able to get more pictures, according to police.
Pitchford allegedly told investigators that he had been using KIK and that his username was Jrich7777777. He also reportedly told investigators he had conversations with other people about having sex with a child that he knew.
According to police, Pitchford recalled the conversation, but could not remember the name of the woman with whom he'd been talking.
He told investigators that the pictures made him sick and he stopped talking to Riley. As the interview continued, he admitted to still talking with Riley.
The report states that he told investigators it was all a fantasy to him and that talking to people like this relaxed him.
Pitchford formerly owned Healthmax Centers in Fort Smith, Poteau and Bonanza. He has since sold those locations.
The new owners of Cenetek, the company that bought the businesses Friday (Feb. 9) have released a statement.
"As the new owners of Healthmax we understand the importance and seriousness of the situation currently with the previous ownership. We hope that the community, patients and people understand that the quality of care they loved from the facility was through its dedicated staff and practitioners. We have taken steps to ensure that moving forward we are investing and reorganizing in order to continue and improve the services offered by our facilities. We appreciate the opportunity to serve the patients of this community and hope to make the new facilities a staple in the community for healthcare."