Crime & Safety
Child Pornography Found on Man's Cell Phone, Police Say
A 6-year-old may have been shown pornographic photos by a Hazelwood man, Sunset Hills police said. Charges for enticing a minor are pending.
A man faces a criminal charge after Sunset Hills Police discovered illicit photos on his phone Aug. 23.
John Basch, 47, of the 800 block of Teson Road in Hazelwood, was charged Thursday with possession of child pornography.
said they received a hotline call regarding Basch, and an investigation revealed that he may have shown pornographic photos to a 6-year-old girl in Sunset Hills.
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Officers responded to a call about a sexual offense against a minor to a Sunset Hills home on Aug. 21. Police seized Basch’s cell phone and he signed a consent form allowing them to search the phone on Aug. 23. Police discovered photos on the phone of minors having sex, police said.
A Sunset Hills detective told Patch that there were downloaded photos of child pornography and photos that Basch took himself. However, in the photos that Basch took himself, the children are not having sex, their faces are not showing and the minors are clothed.
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Charges for enticing a minor are pending, police said.
Bond was set at $15,000 on the child pornography possession charge.
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