THUNDER BAY -- A 49-year-old city man has been released after being arrested on child pornography charges.
John David Cornell of Thunder Bay was charged with possession of child pornography and making child pornography available on April 21 after a search of his East Mary Street residence.
The Thunder Bay Police Service’s cyber-crime unit received a referral from the provincial strategy to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation on the Internet after they had been alerted by Twitter of a local IP address uploading alleged child pornography.
A preliminary investigation led to a search warrant executed at the accused’s residence. Police seized a laptop, two smartphones and 13 USB flashdrives.
Cornell was arrested just before 9:30 a.m. on April 21.
He appeared via video at the Thunder Bay Courthouse Wednesday morning and was released on a recognizance of $1,000 without deposit.
Cornell is not to attend within 100 metres of any place a child under the age of 16 is expected to be unless that child is in the direct company of an adult.
He is also not to possess or use any device that has access to the Internet.
Cornell will return to court on May 5.
