A cybertip from the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and a subsequential investigation resulted in the April 7 arrest of a 56-year-old Linton man on charges of possession of child pornography as well as possession of methamphetamine.

Gary Michael Lucas was arrested on April 7 on felony charges of possession of child pornography and possession of methamphetamine.

A report from Dropbox, Inc., a file hosting service that offers cloud storage and file synchronization services, was sent to Det. Jonathan Muscato of the Bloomington Police Department on Feb. 17. The Dropbox and associated files were found to belong Lucas. Along with the report, Det. Muscato received three files depicting child pornography. One of the files – a video of more than 33 minutes – showed various sexual acts involving young females, approximately five- or six-years-old, and what appear to be adult males and females. According to the probable cause affidavit prepared by Det. Muscato, the other videos depicted sexual acts involving young females, appearing to be under the age of 12, with adult males.

Det. Muscato obtained a search warrant for Dropbox and located 293 files, which included video and photographs. A large portion of the material was apparent child pornography, according to the probable cause affidavit, while several “selfie” images were of Lucas. Photos also included one of Lucas’s driver's license showing his date of birth and address.

On April 5, Det. Muscato obtained a search warrant for Lucas’s residence and electronic devices. On April 7, he interviewed Lucas and carried out the search warrant. Lucas was also taken into custody at that time.

During the interview, Lucas allegedly admitted to possessing child pornography. According to the probable cause affidavit, he said he finds it on the dark web and stores and collects it on his cell phone, laptop, thumb drive, and cloud storage. He allegedly admitted to using Dropbox and other cloud storage clients to store child pornography. According to the probable cause, he admitted to viewing child pornography almost daily.

Lucas provided Det. Muscato with the passcode to his cellphone. Upon a brief examination of the phone, he located a substantial amount of child pornography.

While carrying out the search warrant, Det. Muscato also located methamphetamine inside Lucas’s residence.

Lucas was transported to Greene County Jail where he was initially held without bond. He appeared in Greene Circuit Court on April 12 for an initial hearing. At that time, bond was set at $14,000 surety with 10% allowed.

Lucas has been charged with possession of child pornography, a Level 5 Felony and possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 Felony.