Illinois Man Found with 14 Year Old Runaway at Local Campground, Arrested for Child Pornography
(Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, May 12, 2022)
An Illinois man is being held in the Oakland County Jail without bond after he was arraigned on four felony charges including possession of child pornography.
Damien Alexander Newman, 27, is charged with possession of child sexually abusive material, two counts of using a computer to commit a crime and distributing sexually explicit, visual or verbal material to children.
The computer charges are the most serious and carry up to seven years in prison upon conviction.
“It is disgusting and tragic that there are individuals who seek to perpetrate or share sexual violation of children,” Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. “Through good detective work, this individual was caught and will be held to account.” Pontiac District Court Judge Ronda Gross set a probable cause conference for May 24 before Judge Cynthia Walker. Gross ordered Newman, who is from Galva, Ill., held without bond, saying he was a potential flight risk.
A preliminary examination is set for May 31.
Newman was arrested early Saturday morning after emerging from a picnic area at Hawk Woods Park and Campground on Bald Mountain Road in Auburn Hills. He was accompanied by a 14-year-old Pontiac girl who was reported to have run away from home hours before. The girl was being supervised by another person while her mother was out of town. A 911 call was placed when the girl left the home.
Deputies tracked the girl to the campground where they noticed a white van backed into a parking spot. As they approached the van, they saw the missing girl and Newman. They detained Newman, who had a large fixed-blade knife concealed on his person. Newman told Deputies he was from Illinois and had met the girl about a year ago on Snapchat. He said this was their first face-to-face meeting. Deputies confiscated cell phones from Newman and the girl as evidence. Detectives from the Sheriff’s Office Computer Crimes Unit were able to find child pornography and other sexually explicit material on Newman’s cell phone
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