New Mexico Man Arrested After Allegedly Printing Photos Of Naked Children At Walmart
A New Mexico man was arrested after allegedly printing photos of naked children at a Kiosk inside of Walmart. He was charged with third-degree felony sexual exploitation of children and fourth-degree felony tampering with evidence, according to Alamogordo News.
Alamogordo police responded to a call on June 3 at around 6:16 p.m. about a Walmart customer who had processed photos of nude girls. Upon their arrival, a store clerk informed them that 45-year-old Anthony Leitch – who inserted a fake name, Tony Smith, before placing his SD card into the machine – printed seven photos of naked girls who appeared to be between the ages of 8 and 12-years-old.
Alamogordo man accused of child exploitation http://t.co/yjTZWwm6M7
— Alamogordo DailyNews (@alamogordonews) June 9, 2015
After he left Walmart, the photos he printed accidentally printed at the photo center as well, and employees were able to see the pornographic images of several young girls. The employees became increasingly concerned and immediately alerted police, according to WFTV.
Police officials examined the photos and uncovered that the photos were taking at various locations in Alamogordo. Some of the young girls appeared in the pictures more than once and some were dressed in clothes.
When an investigation launched, police officials viewed surveillance footage of Leitch entering Walmart and leaving a short time later after he printed his pornographic images of the children. The alleged pedophile was also seen leaving the store in a maroon four-door car.
Friday morning, police arrested Leitch for child pornography at his home at 1100 block of Mescalero Street. They searched his home but were unable to find the SD card in which housed several nude pictures of young girls. Police officials believe he may have destroyed it after printing the photos.
Investigations did, however, uncover suspicious evidence from his home that will help the case, and it will be examined by a forensic expert.
“We don’t know if he did or not,” said APD Detective Lt. Roger Schoolcraft.
“We did a search of his residence and recovered some property, and we’re going to find out if that’s it or not. We’re going to have it forensically examined, so that’ll take a little while. We received pieces of electronic equipment and will see what’s in there.”
New Mexico police also uncovered that Leitch is not a registered sex offender and that he had not been living in Alamogordo for long. He traveled all around the world but resided at Las Cruces the longest.
Leitch is currently being held at the Otero County Detention Center until his court date with a set bond at $20,000. The investigation is ongoing.
[Image courtesy of Alamogordo News]
