James E. Wilson, who appeared in court Wednesday for a preliminary hearing, was charged with the felony counts after law enforcement authorities allegedly discovered nude pictures of him on the computer of a 17 year-old girl from Milford, Utah.
The Spectrum reports that approximately a month after meeting the girl on AFF, Wilson allegedly sent the girl photos of himself, including three naked pictures, including one in which Wilson’s face is visible.
The girl reportedly sent Wilson naked pictures of herself, as well, and when the girl’s mother discovered a naked photo of her daughter on the Internet, she contacted the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office, according to testimony given Wednesday by Deputy Vincent Cox.
In addition to nude photos of Wilson, the girl’s mother reportedly discovered nude photos of three other men on the family computer as well.
The juvenile girl reportedly told Wilson she was only 17, but Wilson’s attorney, Ann Marie Allen, told the Spectrum that there is no way to know whether Wilson actually knew the girl was underage when he sent her the pictures. Allen noted that AFF is an adult site that requires its users to input their date of birth, suggesting that her client had a reasonable basis to believe the girl was another adult.
Allen also argued that the presence of nude photos of other men raises questions as to whether the photos Wilson sent were really “harmful” to the girl.
Following testimony on Wednesday, Judge Michael Westfall found that there was sufficient evidence against Wilson for the case to proceed.
“In some aspects, the evidence is overwhelming,” Westfall said in court Wednesday, according to the Spectrum.
AFF was unavailable for comment at press time.
