Chinese national arrested on multiple child porn charges

A Chinese national residing in Cape Girardeau is in custody at the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office for possession and distribution of child pornography.

Haoyu Wang, 27, was booked at the sheriff’s office Thursday by the Missouri State Highway Patrol for first-degree promoting and three counts of possession of child pornography, all of which are class B felonies.

According to a probable-cause statement, Microsoft reported a file believed to be child pornography Oct. 10 that was uploaded to its computer network on SkypeVideo. The report was sent to the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the highway patrol and State Technical Assistance Team for investigation. The file was a 19-second video showing a male child, approximately 8 years old, sleeping. The video then pans from the child’s face, showing his genitals.

On Jan. 21, a warrant was served to search a residence on Merriwether Street, identified through an IP address obtained through legal process from Charter Communications, and officers made contact with Wang, the statement said. Wang told officers he lived at the house, and when he was shown a picture of the video he admitted he had seen it. He also told officers his Skype account had been shut down around the same time Microsoft reported the file.

Wang’s cellphone and computer were searched by police, according to the probable-cause statement, and photos and videos showing children engaged in sexual activity were found on both devices. In addition, investigators found conversations on various phone applications, many of which were encrypted, indicating he was distributing and receiving the files from other users. Three files out of hundreds that were found on Wang’s devices were reviewed and depicted graphic sexual acts with children between the ages of 8 and 10, the statement said.

Wang was required to surrender his passport, and is currently being held at the Cape Girardeau County Jail on no bond.