Eagan Man Charged with Possession of Child Pornography

An Eagan man faces a handful of criminal charges after police discovered 152 child pornography files on a computer at his home.

Michael Robert Juarez, 48, was charged last week with five felony counts of possession of child pornography, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Dakota County Attorney's Office. If convicted on a single count, Juarez could face a maximum of five years in prison and $5,000 in fines.

An officer working as part of the Minnesota Cybercrime Task Force was able to connect in 2012 with a host computer owned by Juarez using peer-to-peer software, according to the complaint.

The officer allegedly found more than 100 known or suspected child pornography files on the host computer, the complaint said, and was able to download 13 files from the computer. Using the host computer's IP address, the investigator traced its location to Eagan. On July 31, police executed a search warrant at the residence.

Juarez, who was present during the search, allegedly admitted to officers that he used peer-to-peer sharing program to obtain child pornography because he was "curious," according to the complaint. He also told officers that he had been using the sharing program for years, and that there may be hundreds, if not thousands, of child porn files in his download folder.

Police confiscated the computer and other equipment from Juarez' home. During a search of the computer, officers found 152 confirmed child porn files, among other suspected child pornography files.