Two people have been arrested by the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department as part of an operation targeting those who distribute child pornography and more arrests are coming.
During the operation, from March 13-May 28, the sheriff’s department executed 26 search warrants, according to Sheriff Perry Palmer. Six were at residences and eight were for seized electronic devices.
The Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department is part of the West Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children task force and used its new computer forensic lab to examine the seized electronics, Palmer said.
The lab, which opened in March, has computers and equipment that allows the department to examine cell phones, tablets and other electronic devices without sending them to the West Virginia State Police Lab.
That saves months of waiting on results, Palmer said.
Robert Digman, 65, of Morgantown, was arrested on May 21.
Digman posted what appeared to be a picture of child pornography on Feb. 16, 2019, according to a criminal complaint. On April 11, 2019, his home was searched where digital evidence and printed child porn pictures were found.
Examination of the seized devices found more than 200 additional images of minors in sexually explicit conduct, the complaint said.
Jeevraj Rathore, 57, of Morgantown, was arrested on May 28.
The investigation into him started after a 36 second video that seemed to be child pornography was posted on Facebook, a criminal complaint said.
A search of the address linked to the IP address the video was uploaded from found Rathore was the brother-in-law of the homeowner, the complaint said. Rathore confirmed the account was his.
He said the video was sent to him from a friend in India and he sent it to a different friend in India, according to the complaint.
A cell phone seized found another two videos of child porn.
Digman and Rathore are both charged with distribution and exhibiting material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. and are free on $5,000 bond.
