A former Franklin County Jailer has been indicted on two federal charges.
Derek Walton, 31, of Liberty was charged with two counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child, in United States District Court Southern Division of Indiana, Indianapolis Division.
Walton has been held without bond at the Marion County Jail since his arrest in August.
Investigators say they became aware of an individual sending images and videos of child pornography through an email account. A second email account was discovered by federal agents while investigation a sexual offender, who had exchanged child pornography with the first email account.
According to investigators, both email accounts were allegedly traced to Walton and had been accessed multiple times from the Franklin County Security Center. As a result, a search warrant was conducted at Walton’s home in August. During the search, agents say they located electronic evidence of pornographic images depicting a minor.
In the December indictment it stated that on occasion Walton had “custody, care or supervisory control of a female between age 13 and 14, according to the Brookville American-Democrat.
During that time, the juvenile was living in the custody of a relative in the Southern District of Indiana who is not a defendant in the case, according to the General Allegations. Walton did not disclose to the relative that child pornography was being produced that involved the girl.
The allegations allege Walton enticed the child in sexually explicit conduct and used electronic devices to produce depictions of the female engaged in sexual conduct.
Walton waved his right to a grand jury hearing, according to the Richmond Palladium-Item.
A “not guilty” plea was entered on Waltons behalf, with a trial date set for Feb. 18. The Richmond newspaper reported that if Walton is convicted, he could receive a sentence from 16-60 years in federal prison.
