Fruitland teen charged with Internet crime

A Fruitland teen is in the Cape Girardeau County Jail on 13 counts related to possession and sharing child pornography.

Sheriff's deputies arrested William B. "Ben" Nolen, 18, on Wednesday after an eight-month investigation prompted by the U.S. Customs Service, which has an Internet crime division. Investigators seized several computers and disks and found hundreds of image files and digital video files containing child pornography.

Lt. David James with the sheriff's department said Nolen was using KAZAA file-sharing software. Law enforcement monitors the software for criminal activity, James said.

Nolen's bond is set at $100,000. He is charged with 12 counts of first-degree promoting child pornography, which is a Class B felony, and one count of possession of child pornography, a Class A misdemeanor.