WIND POINT – A 65-year-old Wind Point man has been charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography by the Racine County District Attorney’s Office. Each count is a felony, punishable by a $100,000 fine and/or 25 years in prison,
David C. Peters was taken into custody Tuesday after an examination of his electronic devices by investigators from the Racine County Criminal Investigations Bureau and the Racine County Internet Crimes Against Children Unit. The agencies executed a search warrant of his home in the 100 block of West Campus Court on Monday.
According to the criminal complaint, a Racine County investigator, using a computer software used to detect the downloading of internet child pornography, on August 10 located an online account that was downloading what appeared to be child pornography. Search warrants were obtained for the address owner who was identified as Peters.
When Investigators executed a search warrant of Peters’ home on Monday, he provided them with his computer password and acknowledged that the computer had a particular program on it that an investigator recognized “as being capable of downloading shared child pornography,” the complaint stated. During the investigation, Peters “came up to two investigators, put a hand on each of their shoulders and stated ‘I’m guilty.’”
Peters told investigators that online images he had found of a Russian model named Masha were from LS Models “a Russian/Ukrainian company which was previously investigated for producing child pornography,” according to the criminal complaint. Some of the images found in Peters’ possession were of girls as young as 8 to 10 years old.
According to the complaint, Peters acknowledged that he sought out images of teen girls “but he did not think it would result in his house being raided.” He also told investigators that has volunteered at a school where he helps children learn to read.
In addition to the child pornography possession charges, Peters was charged with one count of Possession of THC and one count of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Those charges were filed after investigators found “green plant material in a plastic bag labeled THIS IS A MARIJUANA PRODUCT and a jar labeled Cultivation LABS” in a search of Peters’ home. The substance tested positive for THC. Officers also found pipes and a grinder.
Peters made an initial court appearance on Wednesday afternoon where a cash bond was set at $5,000. He was also ordered not to have contact with female minors unless in the presence of other adults and not to use the internet. He was ordered not to possess or consume controlled substances and be subject to random drug screen and breathalyzer tests by the Racine County Alternatives Program.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 9 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave., Racine.