EVANSVILLE — Tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children led to the arrests of two men Monday in Evansville accused of possessing child pornography.
Vanderburgh County jail booking records identified the men as 54-year-old Tony L. Murphy and 63-year-old Michael F. Borman. Both were being held on $5,000 bonds as of Monday afternoon. Murphey and Borman each face 10 counts of possession of child pornography, a Level 5 felony, according to court records.
In sworn affidavits filed by the Evansville Police Department and the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office, detectives wrote that online tips submitted between June and July 2023 prompted investigations into both men’s online activities, specifically their use of reverse image search tools. However, EPD Sgt. Trudy Day told the Courier & Press that police records did not show links between the two cases or the two arrests.
Murphy alleged to have possessed more than 1,400 images depicting child sexual abuse
On June 2, the EPD received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, or NCMEC, alleging that an “unknown individual” had used an image matching service to “search for child pornography,” a detective wrote in a sworn affidavit.
The detective explained that the tool searches for images similar to those a user uploads, often referred to as a visual search. The affidavit does not name the company, referring to it only as an “Electronic Service Provider.”
Investigators allegedly traced the suspicious search to Murphy’s home in the 1000 block of Edgar Street in Evansville, and in July 2023, police executed a search warrant there. Murphy was reportedly present at the home when the EPD arrived.
“Murphy admitted he had been using the (image search provider’s) service to search for child pornography,” his arrest affidavit states. “Murphy admitted to being in possession of numerous files that he knew were child pornography.”
Forensic examinations of computer equipment seized from Murphy’s home allegedly turned up 1,456 images depicting child sexual abuse and 145 videos depicting similar acts, according to the EPD. More than 40 of the images and videos seized depicted “bondage” and “bestiality,” a detective wrote in a sworn affidavit.
Investigators said some of the children depicted in the seized files appeared to have been infants.
Murphy was booked at the Vanderburgh County jail just after 12:10 p.m. Monday. Court records show that he has retained private legal counsel and filed a motion to obtain any evidence prosecutors have collected as a result of the law enforcement’s investigation.
Second tip also involved the alleged use of image search tool
In July 2023, the sheriff’s office received a tip from the NCMEC regarding suspicious Bing Image searches that traced to an Evansville internet address. Bing is a search engine service operated by Microsoft. The searches flagged by the NCMEC depicted “child sexual abuse material,” according to public court records.
As a result of the VCSO investigation, detectives determined that the IP address associated with the searches was registered to Borman, who resided in the 500 block of Sterchi Drive. In March, detectives executed a search warrant at the residence.
“Borman denied viewing, searching, storing or saving any (child sexual abuse material),” Borman’s arrest affidavit states. “Borman advised that he was the sole occupant of the residence and that his WiFi connection was password protected and that no one else had access to it.”
According to the sheriff’s office, a forensic examination of Borman’s electronic devices turned up “thousands” of images depicting child sexual abuse.
“The age range of the children in the images span from the age of toddler to teenager, are both of (boys) and (girls) and are performing various sexual acts,” the affidavit states.
As of Monday afternoon, public court records did not yet state when Murphy or Boarman would make their initial appearances in court or if they had pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against them.
Houston Harwood can be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Two Evansville men arrested in separate child exploitation cases
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