Police: Homeland Security intercepts child sex-abuse images tied to Norwalk man

NORWALK — A local man was charged Monday after a two-year-long investigation into child sexual abuse imagery, according to police.

Thomas Finn, 55, of Coachmans Court, was charged with first-degree possession of child pornography and promoting a minor in an obscene performance.

The charges stem from an investigation that began in January 2020.

Lt. Terry Blake said the department’s Special Victims Unit was contacted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security about an interception of suspected child sexual abuse imagery on the messaging application Kik.

The Homeland Security agents told Det. Kristina LaPak that the suspected image was uploaded from an IP address in Norwalk, Blake said. LaPak, through a series of court orders, found that the imagery was uploaded from Finn’s home.

A search warrant was served at Finn’s home in September 2020, and several devices were seized, including an iPhone, Blake said.

An arrest warrant was issued for Thomas Finn and on January 24, 2022, Finn was arrested at his home by Special Victims Unit Detectives and members of the Norwalk Police Emergency Service Unit.

Sgt. Nate Paulino, the investigative supervisor in the Special Victims Unit, forensically examined the devices and found numerous media files with child sexual abuse imagery on the iPhone and several conversations in the Kik messaging app, Blake said. He said the app contained messages discussing sexual abuse acts with minors.

Paulino learned Finn was the sole user of the iPhone at the time the images were uploaded and throughout the conversations found in the Kik app, Blake said.

Finn was held on a $250,000 bond and was expected in court on Tuesday.

Mark Sherman, the Stamford-based criminal defense attorney representing Finn, declined to comment on case specifics, but insisted that his client will aggressively fight these charges.

“This is a father and husband with no criminal history whatsoever and from what I know about the investigation so far, the forensics that led to this arrest beg more questions then answers,” Sherman said.