Racine police say a 58-year-old man is facing the rest of his life in prison after they found numerous images of child pornography in his home after they received a tip that photos were sent from his computer to the United Kingdom.
Daniel Wortman, of Racine, was charged Thursday in Racine County Circuit Court with 10 felony counts of possession of child pornography. If convicted, he faces 250 years in prison and/or up to $1,000,000 in fines.
According to the criminal complaint, authorities began investigating Wortman last fall after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provided information to the Wisconsin Department of Justice that at least 3 suspected images of child pornography were sent from Wortman’s home to a site in the UK. Police obtained the necessary search warrant and took several hard drives, laptops and other electronic devices from Wortman’s home.
Investigators say they found on a flash drive from Wortman’s bedroom the three images sent to the United Kingdom as reported by the center for exploited children. Additionally, they found “documents and writings” about spanking children and numerous images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children – both boys and girls – ranging in age from three to 14. One video describes the adult male as having a white beard and glasses.
Wortman remains in the Racine County Jail on a $50,000 bond. He will next be in court June 15 for his preliminary hearing.