This was a swift investigation. Within two days of receiving a tip about a Switz City man allegedly involved in sexual crimes against a very young child, including child pornography, ISP detectives arrested the suspect. Earlier today, a judge set the man’s bond at $80,000 cash only.

Brett Allan Walker, 28, Switz City, was arrested last week by Indiana State Police Det. Kevin Getz. Walker was booked into the Greene County Jail around 12:20 a.m. on Thursday, November 28, after a contingent of officers arrived at Walker’s home late Wednesday, November 27, to execute a search warrant.

The Indiana State Police released initial information announcing the arrest on Monday, December 2, and a press release was posted on GreeneStreets.

The next day, on Tuesday, December 3, Greene County Prosecutor Jarrod Holtsclaw filed a criminal case against Walker and new details about the case emerged in a probable cause affidavit.

Earlier today, Wednesday, December 4, Walker appeared before Judge Erik Allen in Greene Circuit Court and was charged with:

Child molesting, a Level 1 felony,
Child exploitation with an aggravating circumstance, a Level 4 felony, and
Possession of child pornography with an aggravating factor, a Level 5 felony.

ISP Det. Getz, the lead investigator, has been an ISP detective since 1993 and is assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit and he serves on the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, comprised of federal, state and local law enforcement officers who conduct undercover online investigations, respond to complaints about children being sexually exploited via the internet, and monitor the internet for the bartering of child pornography. The probable cause affidavit filed in this case was prepared by Det. Getz.

Det. Getz explained that on Monday, November 25, an incident of possession of child pornography was reported by Google LLC to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). This tip was then forwarded to the ISP Internet Crimes Against Children Unit and they determined Walker was the person being reported. The tip reported there were 13 child pornography image files allegedly associated with Walker’s email account.

The very next day, on Tuesday, November 26, a second incident involving the same account was reported by Google in the same manner only this tip, when it came in to ISP from the NCMEC was “Priority Level 1” which was defined as “a subject appears to have direct access to a child victim.” The NCMEC provided documentation that showed the victim in the pornographic images appeared to be the same child that appeared with Walker on Walker’s page of a popular social media site.

Walker was located as living at a residence on East 4th Street in Switz City, and it was determined that he was a registered sex offender. BMV records confirmed his location through his driver’s license and vehicle registration and the Greene County Sheriff’s Department confirmed he was registered as living at the Switz City address.

By 6 p.m. that Wednesday, November 27, Judge Dena Martin of Greene Superior Court had authorized a search warrant for the residence and property in Switz City, Walker’s vehicle and his person.

That evening, only two days after the initial tip was received, officers arrived at the Switz City address to execute the warrant, including Det. Getz, Sgt. Joel Metzger, and possibly others, all from the ISP Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, Sgt. Pat Deckard from the ISP Cyber Crimes Unit, Officer Lachelle Maurer of the Martinsville Police Department and a member of the ICAC Task Force, and FBI Special Agent Todd Prewitt.

Walker was home at the time. He was interviewed as was his wife and an unknown number of items of evidence was seized. A member of the Cyber Crimes Unit performed a triage examination of Walker’s cell phone and reported there was child pornography on the device.

Although Walker did not at first acknowledge ownership of the email account identified in the tip, he later nodded his head yes when asked about it. He allegedly did admit he had accessed adult pornography online and that he had viewed a child pornography video on his phone.

The evidence includes the alleged pornographic images reported in the tip. They involve a one- to two-year-old female child. Det. Getz described the images in detail but that will not be included in this story due to the lewd nature of the images. The allegation is that Walker produced these images.

Walker was taken into custody and transported to the Greene County Jail. His bond was initially set at $60,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed but that was increased when he appeared in court.

During the initial hearing earlier today before Judge Allen, Deputy Public Defender Ellen Martin was appointed to represent Walker and a no-contact order was issued. Walker’s case is scheduled for trial by jury in April of 2020.

Prosecutor Holtsclaw also filed a motion indicating his intent that Walker, if convicted, be sentenced as a habitual criminal.

Walker is a convicted sex offender. Records show he was living in Indianapolis when he was arrested and charged in Marion County with two counts of child molesting. In October of 2010, he was found guilty of one count and sentenced to four years but it was suspended and he was placed on probation. Then in April of 2011, he was arrested again and charged with criminal confinement and battery. His probation in the first case of child molesting was revoked and he was ordered to serve his sentence in prison. In the case involving criminal confinement, he was convicted and sentenced to four years with one year suspended and was ordered to serve this sentence consecutive to the first one. DOC records show he was released on December 31, 2016.

After he had served his time, he was still required to register with the Indiana Sex and Violent Offender List. Greene County Registrar Kelly Portteus stated that prior to his arrest, he was registered at the residence in Switz City. Since he is now incarcerated, he does not now appear on the list available to the public. If and when he should ever be released from custody, he will still be required to register and will appear on the list again.

As of now, Walker remains behind bars in the Greene County Jail and is not eligible for posting ten percent cash of any bond. During the initial hearing, at the request of the prosecutor, Judge Allen set Walker’s bond at $80,000, cash only.