NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) –
A Nashville man was arrested after police said thousands of images of child pornography were found on his cell phone.
Two people found the cell phone on the ground near the Metro Justice Center on Sept. 1. They checked one of the phone’s apps to determine who it belonged to and discovered apparent child pornography.
They also saw a photo of a nude man who one of them recognized as 27-year-old Thomas Wayne Eaton. They then walked into the Metro Justice Center and turned the phone over to authorities.
An examination of the phone by Metro detectives revealed about 1,800 downloaded images of children, including infants and toddlers, engaged in sexual acts.
Court documents said Eaton had several naked “selfies” on the phone, as well as conversations where referred to himself by name.
The number on the phone was listed to Eaton, who is homeless.
Detectives swore out a warrant against Eaton on Sept. 24, but were unable to locate him until Thursday when an undercover officer spotted him walking on 2nd Avenue North from Commerce Street.
Police said Eaton claimed to be someone else at the time of his arrest.
Eaton faces charges of sexual exploitation of a minor and criminal impersonation. He is being held on a $151,000 bond.
A group of people in Public Square Park told Channel 4 they knew Eaton and said he often hung out in the area. They also said he was often on his phone.
“He normally stayed on it all the time,” said one woman, who asked to remain anonymous. “When he gets on his phone, he walks away from us because he says he’s got important calls.”
The woman said she saw Eaton Wednesday. She was shocked to hear why he was arrested.
“That just makes me feel bad, because I have a daughter,” she said. “I’m really mad.”
“The police department is very concerned,” said Metro police spokesman Don Aaron. “To have that much child porn on a phone, you could be forwarding it to other people. You could be showing it to others. We are very concerned that much was there.”
Police Eaton downloaded the images to his phone and did not take any of the pictures. Because of this, police have no reason to believe any of the children in the images are from Nashville.
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Source: NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) Channel 4
Nashville man charged after child porn found on lost phone
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