Tim Ryan tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
A Wittenberg man pleaded not guilty Friday to 67 counts of possessing child pornography.
James K. Beckwith, 56, could face a maximum 25 years in prison and $100,000 fine on each count if convicted.
Beckwith was initially charged in November with 25 counts of child porn possession. The criminal complaint was amended in December to add the additional 42 counts after further investigation by authorities.
Shawano County sheriff’s investigators were alerted in September that an IP address located in the county had downloaded possible child pornography, according to the criminal complaint, which states the internet address was subsequently linked to Beckwith.
The initial cyber tip was reported by Microsoft on behalf of Skype, according to the complaint.
County authorities subsequently received four additional cyber tips from the state Division of Criminal Investigation regarding other images of alleged child porn being downloaded at Beckwith’s internet address.
Sheriff’s investigators executed a search warrant at Beckwith’s residence on Nov. 11, seizing an iPhone and a laptop computer.
According to the complaint, investigators found videos and images on the laptop hard drive of male and female children in states of undress and engaged in sexual poses or activity.
Beckwith is free on a $15,000 cash bond and is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on April 12.