Holts Summit man arrested for child pornography

A multijurisdictional cyber crimes investigation put a Holts Summit man behind bars on suspicion of child pornography Tuesday.

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Chad Eskola and Andrea Williford

Frederick W. Lawson, 50, was arrested from his Halifax Road home after the Boone County Sheriff's Department Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Callaway County Sheriff's Department and the FBI revealed "numerous movie files" on a computer "showing children, some believed to be as young as 3... being sexually molested," according to a release from the task force.

A local investigation began in December when the Nixa Police Department contacted the Cyber Crimes Task Force. Nixa Police had downloaded child pornography over several days through a file sharing program from a computer they believed to be in the mid-Missouri area. CCSO Sgt. Clay Chism said his department was soon contacted when the source computer was narrowed down to Callaway County.

"Because the incident was in Callaway County, they notified us as we conducted a joint follow-up investigation," said Chism. "A search warrant was obtained for the residence, which officers with both the CCSO and the Cyber Crimes Task Force served yesterday morning."

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.