Ronald Herbert Mitchell of Lakeview, charged with 34 counts of distribution, possessing or viewing child pornography, waived both his appearance and formal arraignment and a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday.
The 58-year-old Mitchell, who is represented by Mountain Home attorney Mark Cooper, was ordered to appear in Circuit Court October 26th.
Mitchell was booked into the Baxter County Detention Center at 4:35 p.m. October 5th and released less than a hour later on a $10,000 bond.
The investigation was launched in mid-May when the Arkansas State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Division received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children suspected child pornography had been uploaded to a computer with an Internet Protocol address traced back to Mitchell.
A search warrant was issued to Mitchell’s residence on June 12th and was executed by ASP Special Agents Justin Nowlin and Buster Rinks two days later at approximately 6:35 a.m.
Mitchell was also interviewed at the time of the search and, according to the probable cause affidavit, admitted he had viewed a picture of suspected child pornography located on his computer.
The evidence gathered during the search was taken to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory in Little Rock to be processed by a qualified computer specialist.
Meanwhile, 27 VHS tapes taken in the search were returned to Mitchell when no images of child pornography were located on the tapes.
The report on the computer indicated there was evidence of suspected child pornography — including pictures and videos — recovered. Once that evidence was in hand, charges were filed against Mitchell.
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