Judge: Man accused in child porn case to remain in jail
A 21-year-old Ashdown, Ark., man accused of producing and posting child pornography involving 5- and 13-year-old girls will remain in jail while his case proceeds, a federal judge in Texarkana ruled Friday.
Aaron Lloyd Mitchell is accused of sexually abusing the girls on property in rural Foreman, Ark., according to a criminal complaint on file in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas and used to create the following account. Mitchell, a life-long Ashdown resident, was involved in a romantic relationship with the 5-yearold’s mother and had recently moved into their home. The 13-year-old alleged victim is the daughter of a friend of the 5-year-old’s mother and frequently stayed the night in the same home with Mitchell, the 5-year-old and the younger girl’s mother.
Mitchell appeared Friday morning with Fayetteville, Ark., lawyer Matthew Hill for a detention hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Bryant in Texarkana’s downtown federal building. Mitchell asked the court to
release him while the criminal case against him proceeds. Mitchell has been in jail since his arrest Nov. 21 following an investigation by the F.B.I. and in conjunction with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The images which ultimately led to Mitchell’s arrest were first brought to the attention of NCMEC through an anonymous posting to its cyber tipline Nov. 3. The tip identified six photos associated with a user name on the social media and blogging site Tumblr which appeared to be images depicting the sexual abuse of children. The tip included a warning that the individual posting the images “may be currently molesting 5-year-old and 13-year-old and posting pics.”
The photos depicted the sexual abuse of a prepubescent female child and sexually oriented photos of a juvenile female. NCMEC received a second tip Nov. 5 from a Tumblr representative which included images identical to those received in the Nov. 3 tip.
NCMEC was able to conduct an analysis of some of the images which identified the location where they were created on an iPhone 7 Plus and provided a report Nov. 19 detailing the findings to the FBI. The following day NCMEC and the FBI Violent Crimes Against Children Intelligence Unit contacted the FBI’s Texarkana office with the information. Agents in Little Rock used the location information extracted from the photos to identify a residence in Foreman at which the images were likely created.
Texarkana FBI agents went to the property Nov. 21 and learned from their investigation that Mitchell was living on the property. Mitchell was contacted by a nearby resident cooperating with the FBI and asked to come outside. When Mitchell walked out of the residence, he was allegedly “manipulating a cell phone in his hands.”
Mitchell allegedly admitted to taking the photos inside the residence of the 5 and 13-yearold girls depicted in the photographs at the center of the investigation.
“Mitchell further admitted to posting the photos of the females on Tumblr,” a federal complaint states. “Mitchell stated he had taken the photos through the SnapChat application, and then saved them to the camera roll on Mitchell’s phone, but he believed he had deleted most of them.”
Mitchell allegedly admitted to deleting the Tumblr app from his phone while FBI agents were standing outside of the Foreman residence. Mitchell’s alleged Tumblr username contains a phrase alluding to the sexual abuse of children not suitable for publication. Mitchell allegedly told agents that the girls were sleeping when he photographed them.
At Friday’s detention hearing, Wulff referred Bryant to the criminal complaint as well as affidavits describing probable cause for search warrants to examine Mitchell’s iPhone and Tumblr account. Wulff said his office brought a sealed envelope containing copies of the offensive images for the court to examine as well.
Hill called Mitchell’s father, a life-long resident of Ashdown to testify. Mitchell’s father said he would provide his son a place to live and make sure he attends all court appearances.
Under cross examination by Wulff, the father testified that he pays the bill for his son’s cell phone and gives Mitchell money for rent and other living expenses when he needs it. The father said Mitchell has not had steady employment since injuring his back while a member of the National Guard. The father said Mitchell quit a job at Cooper Tire recently because he didn’t get along with other employees and left other jobs because of the hours.
Wulff asked the father if he is aware of Mitchell’s arrest in Bowie County, Texas, in October for possession of a firearm and controlled substances. Mitchell was free on bond in that case at the time he was allegedly creating child pornography in Arkansas. The father testified that Mitchell was arrested for misdemeanor battery in March 2017 connected to a fight with a friend over a girl.
Wulff argued for Mitchell’s continued confinement.
“He is a hands-on offender,” Wulff said. “Those children were sleeping and he went in their bedrooms and he molested them, he documented it and he shared the images. He did this after his arrest on drug and weapons charges.”
Wulff added that Mitchell has expressed thoughts of suicide while being held in the Miller County jail and described Mitchell as a serious threat to the community. Wulff noted that the crimes alleged in the criminal complaint against Mitchell are punishable by a minimum of 15 years in federal prison and that Mitchell could be facing a 20-year minimum in light of federal sentencing guidelines.
Hill argued that Mitchell’s service in the National Guard and his strong ties to the community weigh in favor of his release. Hill said Mitchell is no longer on suicide watch in the jail and would be willing to wear an electronic monitor while his case is pending.
Bryant sided with the government and ordered Mitchell to remain in custody. Bryant said he considered the strong weight of the government’s evidence against Mitchell, his sketchy employment history, his recent mental health issues and concern for safety of the community in making his decision.
At this time, Mitchell has been charged in the criminal complaint with producing and distributing child pornography involving the 5-year-old. Additional or different charges may be levied by a federal grand jury when presented for indictment.