News release from the Newport PD. “On 01/11/2014, Newport Police Officers responded to a local retailer regarding a subject attempting to print what appeared to be child pornography. Officers began an investigation and learned that the suspect, identified as Mr. Charles B. Norman, age 58 of Newport, attempted to print pictures that appeared to contain nude photos of young girls. When Mr. Norman was not successful in printing the photos, he left the location. While the photos did not print, the pictures he attempted to print were left visible on the screen. An employee recognized the pictures as inappropriate conduct, and reported the incident to the Police Department. During the investigation, Mr. Norman was identified by witness statements and surveillance videos. Investigators reviewed the images obtained from the retailer, and confirmed there were numerous images that contained illegal content. A search warrant was executed on Mr. Norman’s residence, where a computer and other electronic storage devices were seized. During an interview, Mr. Norman told investigators he had downloaded sexually explicit photos of young girls from his work computer, and stored the images on the electronic devices seized during the search warrant. Mr. Norman’s work computer was also seized. Mr. Norman estimated his collection of photos of children, to include sexually explicit photos of children, is about 1,000 images. The investigation is ongoing and will require the forensic examination of the electronics to confirm the origins of the images, and the extent of the collection of illegal images. Mr. Norman was arrested on eight counts of: Encouraging Child Sex Abuse in the 2nd Degree (Class C Felony) ; Possessing Photos with Sexually Explicit Conduct Involving a Child; Encouraging Child Sex Abuse in the 1st Degree (Class B Felony); and Knowingly Developing, Duplicating, Publishing, Printing Photos with Sexually Explicit Conduct Involving a Child. His bail was set at $1,200,000.”
