Detectives got a cyber tip on December 27th, 2024. Someone reported that a Dropbox account was being used to upload and keep illegal material. >> I would internet crimes scheme. So, I'll explain what that entails. If you could estimate the youngest age of uh anything you saw on there, I couldn't tell you. Uh probably younger than 13. Correct. >> On January 23rd, 2025, detectives showed up at a quiet home with a warrant. It was early in the day. The police knocked and called out for anyone inside to come out. >> Who else is in the house? >> Police department. Everyone come outside. >> Police department. Everyone come outside. >> That's all right. We'll do stuff out. Tommy, come over here. Your hands are right here. All right, stay here. >> It'll just be a couple minutes, then we'll bring it back inside. Stay here for now. >> Yeah, go ahead. >> Where you at? >> What's that? Oh, the shoe rack is right there. >> Thank you, boss. >> Those yours? >> Yep. Are these yours? Let me search this code real quick. No idea. I have a Ring camera. Um, my phone's in my bedroom, of course, but I'm wondering if that saw anything. Might be able to help you guys. >> The man said there was one gun on his nightstand in a lock box and another in the closet. >> Do you know anything? >> No. What the hell's going on? >> There is one firearm in the house uh on my nightstand facing the window. The one closest to the window. Uh, it's in a lock box. And then you have one in the closet as well. >> And one in the closet. Yes. >> So there's two >> two firearms. Yes. >> Are they loaded? >> No. >> I'm Detective SC with the police department. I'll explain everything in a sec. Okay. >> We're just going to clear the living room so we can have you guys take a seat on the couch and I'll talk with you guys. Okay. >> Sounds good. >> Follow that off. Okay. >> So, like my partner explained, he's going to do all the talking with you guys, but right now, I just want you to sit there, okay? And then he's going to stand by you. Okay. >> Okay. >> Is everything okay? >> Uh the detective, uh Scratsky, when he comes in, he'll he'll let you know what's going on. >> Can we just confirm like we're okay though? Like >> Yeah. >> Yeah. There there's no there's no danger out there. Then came the twist. The detective revealed what he actually worked on. I'll >> introduce myself again. I'm Detective Scraky. I know this is a shock to both of you. >> So, I'll try to explain everything best I can. Are you guys the only people that reside here? >> Yes. >> We're the only residents. Yes. >> All right. >> That alarm is my alarm clock upstairs. I don't know if anyone >> Yeah. No, you're good. We'll we'll figure it out. >> How long have you lived here? >> Uh, we bought November 14th of last year. Just a little over a year now. >> So, November 20th 2024. >> Yeah. >> 2023. >> No, 2023. He's right. It was right before the wedding. >> All right. And uh what internet service provider do you guys have? >> Exfinity. >> Comcast Xfinity. >> Yeah, >> pretty much since you moved in. >> Yes. >> And uh what service do you have for your cell phone? >> Uh AT&T through my parents. I'm still on their phone. >> You're on their plan. And your >> uh I'm still on my parents. We have Verizon. >> Gotcha. So, um, what I do at the Algaman Police Department is I work internet crimes. So, I'll explain what that entails. Um, that is usually when I receive a what's what's called cyber tip from a company electronic service provider. Um, they'll say, "Oh, we located this on our platform. We need you to investigate it." And I'll look into that, file a legal process, whether that's a search warrant or subpoena, and try and get more information. >> Okay. I've been having really like like hacking stuff pop up. >> Thomas, that's what I'd like to talk with you about. >> Um, is it okay while we have this discussion if it's in private if uh your wife maybe waits upstairs? >> That's okay. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> And I'll give you a copy of the search warrant, ma'am. You can look that over if you'd like while you're waiting. And uh we'll probably just have another officer wait with you in a separate room. Which room would you like to wait in? >> I guess my bedroom will turn off the alarm. >> Okay. Yeah. Not >> Can I ask a couple questions? >> Yes. Go ahead. >> So I know this is because he got hacked. I know that for a fact. So what's all going to happen then? So is he going to court for something? >> I'll explain that. Obviously if that's the case, we need to discuss some things. Thank you. >> The detective made it clear that honesty was important. He explained that in cases like this, people often give excuses. Some say they were only curious. Others say they were hacked. But the investigators upstairs would go through every device in the house. They would look at browsing history, search records, installed programs, and files saved on cloud services. Nothing on a computer or phone truly disappears. >> Or you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can or will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to talk to an attorney and have your attorney present with you while you're being questioned. You cannot afford to hire an attorney. One will be appointed to represent you before any question. If you wish, you can decide at any time to exercise these rights and not answer any questions and make any statements. You understand? >> I don't understand. Okay. >> Do you uh use any social media or anything? >> Uh yeah, like the usernames. >> Mhm. >> Uh capital Z E F T98. >> What do you use that for? >> Uh Steam and Discord. Uh, do you use any social media? >> No, I got rid of it all. That's what I started seeing the weird stuff on. >> Uh, explain that. >> Uh, so you know like the uh when you like go to search for something, they were getting like these weird creepy search results and then like the recommended feed was getting filled with all this crap and I wasn't the one that searched it. I don't look at that crap and I just said, "Okay, forget that. I'm done with all social media." I tried reinstalling it once with new profile, username, that sort of stuff, new password. Same [ __ ] started happening. So, I just deleted again and then delete. >> So, you said you noticed uh stuff coming up on your social media. >> Yeah. >> What kind of stuff? >> Like it was like like like gymnastics like gymnastics and I I'm not searching for that. So, I decided I'm not gonna I'm gonna delete the account and not have that uh I'm not going to be on that platform anymore. >> Okay. So, I'm going to preface what I say next with this and it's very important that you're honest. >> Um, so I' I've done a lot of these cases and I have people explain all types of things. They say, "I was looking at it out of curiosity. I've been hacked." But ultimately, um, those forensic uh examiners up there. It's their job to look through computers, cell phones, and they find what are called artifacts of of searches of programs. Um so they're deter able to determine what's installed on devices, files people have been accessing, their internet browsing history, all that kind of stuff. Um so they're going to look through all that. And what my suspicion is is that you've been downloading and saving it to Dropbox and ultimately they're going to determine the forensic artifacts associated with that. What I need you to do is to be honest because when it comes to this stuff, it does not look good when someone's lying about it. >> Mhm. >> Okay. So, and I understand sometimes people have remorse. They're like, "I've had this problem for a while. I'm trying to get help. Um, I just need to know what's going on here." And I'll try to keep it as secret as I can and disclose as little as possible to her as I need to. Um, practically, but I just need you to be honest. How long you been looking at? >> I guess when I was when I was a minor myself. >> When you were a minor. Yeah. >> Would you first see that kind of stuff? >> When I remember. >> Do you remember what platform we saw that on? >> Um, if you guys don't mind stepping our way. Usually people remember where they discovered stuff. It was a particular website. Is it a file sharing service? >> First one was kick that was like a a mobile. >> Yeah. I've had cases from them. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> We'll wait until she goes back in the room. Okay. >> Now, so it's a little bit quieter. Do you want to go sit at the dining room table? So ask you a couple other questions. >> Yeah. >> He asked whether the husband had ever produced any illegal content. The man said no. The detective then asked if the hacking story earlier was just a lie. The husband said it was partly true and partly not. When asked about the youngest ages he had seen, he admitted it was likely under 13. >> Have you ever produced chop? >> No. >> When you were telling me before those were hacked, is was that just a white lie? >> It's like 50/50. >> Okay. What's the youngest you've seen when viewing that stuff? And nothing surprises me. I mean, I I don't know if you could estimate the youngest age of any saw on there. >> I couldn't tell you. Uh probably younger than 13. Correct. >> Okay. Yeah. Gotcha. Um do you prefer photos or videos? Videos. I was I was going to say everyone's got a preference and I understand that. I'm not asking you these questions to make you feel bad. Uh I'm just asking you them because they're part of the procedure. Ask these type of questions. Okay. Um have you ever sought help for this? Not professional, but >> you've never seen a therapist and told a therapist or anyone about this? >> I've seen therapists, but not that this hasn't been a discussion. >> Okay. >> Yeah. It's usually something people keep to themselves and I understand why. Is this something you want to get help for? >> Yeah, I've been struggling with this. >> Um, >> does anyone else know that you do this? Have you told anyone? >> She knows I have a but not >> not this bad. >> She just thinks it's regular. >> Yeah. Okay. And you know that this type of stuff is illegal? >> Yeah. Okay. Um, did you feel like something like this might happen at some point in time? >> Okay. That did that cause you stress? >> Yeah. I'm sure. I'm sure. When you view that kind of stuff, um, when do you view it? Is it like late at night when your wife's asleep or >> late at night? Um, I mean, I'm I'm Dude, I'm so addicted at home. The work bathroom. >> Okay. >> I'm addicted. I need help with Gotcha. And we've got a social worker through our police department that can connect you with resources. So, um, we'll try and get you the help you need. Okay. and she knows nothing about this. >> I think she suspects. >> Why do you say that? >> She's asked. >> They asked the man about the people he had been chatting with online. He admitted he had been talking to someone who appeared to be a young girl. When they asked her age, then came the twist. >> Do you think did she ever locate stuff on your device? >> I I don't know. Have you ever had any at no point in time? No, I mean like Snapchat, but that was like forever ago. Um, >> how long ago was that? >> I really I really don't know. >> Okay. So, you do use Snapchat to chat? >> Not anymore. No. >> Okay. Were you an adult when that occurred? >> Okay. How old was I? >> Was it a male or female? >> Female. >> Female. Okay. How old did she look? ODS and what your age was? >> 10 to 12. I don't >> 10 to 12. I don't >> Did she show you? >> Okay. And did you know that juvenile goes on? No. >> You met her online? >> How? >> Like gaming. >> Gaming on uh what game? >> That one was That one was Roblox. >> You met her on Roblox? >> Yeah. Um, did you meet juveniles on any other platforms besides Roblox and Tik Tok or social media? Um, she said it's approximately three or four other girls, so four or five total. >> Did they all send you? >> Are we going to find anything in that Dropbox account from your social media that you saved personally? >> No. >> Okay. um from personal interactions located on the truck. >> So, we are going to need to put in the handcuffs and uh take you outside. Okay. Hold this for a second. Anything in these pockets. >> After the forensic team finished examining all of his devices, the full picture became clear. The man was charged with 20 counts of possessing illegal moving depictions involving minors. He later pled guilty. On August 14th, 2025, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail with two days counted as already served. After that, he received 30 months of probation running from August 2025 until February 2028. He was also ordered to pay $4,000 in fines and assessments, and he was required to register as an offender. As the legal process moved forward, his personal life collapsed as well. His wife filed for divorce in February 2025, just weeks after his arrest. The divorce was finalized 2 months later in April. If you were in her place, what would you have done? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks for watching. Stay safe. Stay aware.