FATHER, SON FACE FEDERAL CHARGES OVER CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Child Pornography, Sex Offender and Others Apprehended, Sex Offenders and Others Committing Additional Crimes, Unbelievable

December 3, 2018

ABC 7 News

AMARILLO, Texas (KVII) — An Amarillo father and son face federal charges over child pornography.  According to court documents, Charles Lee Kruse, 42, and Richard Lee Kruse, 63, were indicted on Thursday, Nov. 29. The older Kruse is accused of producing child pornography, whereas Charles is accused of possessing and distributing.  The investigation into the Kruse's began in Sept. 2016 when a boy, identified as John Doe, accused Richard of sexually assaulting him. When interviewed by Amarillo police a few days later, Richard denied the allegation. Then in Oct. 2016, Richard was arrested on an aggravated sexual assault charge, the documents indicate.

In Jan. 2018, an undercover FBI agent in Plano tracked a computer that appeared to be distributing child pornography by using a covert internet connection. According to court documents, the IP address for this computer during the times the investigations were conducted was assigned to Charles Kruse.  Federal officials searched Charles Kruse's home in Sept. 2018 the court documents say. During the search, Charles admitted to having a folder with more than 1,000 pictures and videos of child pornography.

Charles then told officials some of the material came from thumb drives he took from his father's apartment after allegations came out that Richard had sexually assaulted Doe. Charles also admitted to seeing photos of Doe on the thumb drives, but he deleted them and didn't report it to law enforcement.  On Nov. 7, according to court documents, officials found sexually explicit images of a child, believed to be Doe, on the Charles' computer. The pictures appeared to have been taken in front of Charles' desk in his bedroom.

In one photo found on the computer, an arm is around Doe's waist with a thumb and and index finger completely visible. The index finger appeared to be missing a tip. When questioned by police, a family member told officials Richard had previously sawed off a portion of his finger, according to court documents. Officials were able to determine Richard's finger is the one in the explicit photo of Doe, with the help of the family member's statement and by obtaining a copy of Richard's criminal fingerprint.  According to court documents, the Kruse's were arrested on Nov. 9. Charles Kruse is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday, Dec. 6 at 9:30 a.m. Richard Kruse was arraigned on Friday, Nov. 30.

https://abc7amarillo.com/news/local/father-son-face-federal-charges-over-child-pornography