The recent arrest of a former coach at a prestigious Texas high school on child pornography charges, highlights the complex nature of these kinds of investigations.
Gordon Oehmig, a former wrestling “Coach of the year” at St. Thomas, an all-boys Catholic school in Houston, was accused of having more than 1,500 images and 900 videos, involving children as young as one-year-old, on his computer at home, Huffington Post reported.
Police said many of the images were of a sexually explicit nature.
There is no evidence Oehmig touched minors but authorities were reported to have an “elevated concern” about Oehmig, given the nature of the accusations.
Houston Police spokesman J.T. Roscoe said the 29-year-old’s computer had many images of pre-pubescent boys and even toddlers
“We believe he has a strong sexual interest in children,” Roscoe said, according to the Huffington Post. “Unfortunately, a sport such as wrestling allows for a lot of hands-on contact.”
Marty Ross, a former baseball coach at St. Thomas, was reported as saying he wasn’t surprised by the news.
“In today’s society, no, it’s not shocking, unfortunately,” Ross told the TV station KHOU. “It’s everywhere.”
There have been a number of accusations of coaches collecting child pornography in recent months. In August, 2012, the head football coach at Minnesota State University was accused of creating child pornography when naked videos of children were discovered on his phone, according to the New York Daily News.
The massive growth of the Internet over the last decade has also led to a rapid increase in cyber crimes. Perhaps the most common crimes alleged are the online solicitation of a minor to engage in sex and the acquisition of child pornography.
Offenses involving the internet raise many complicated legal issues. They also usually raise numerous complicated technical issues. In addition, in Federal court there are often enhanced penalties if the internet is alleged to have been employed in the commission of the crime.
It’s important to hire an experienced criminal defense attorney who is aware of all of the complexities. In a recent case, for example, we became involved in a complex issue over venue in a child pornography case.
