A Soldotna man was arrested on Wednesday, Oct. 29, for possession of Child Sex Abuse Material (CSAM).
According to the Alaska Department of Public Safety Dispatch on the arrest, the Alaska Bureau of Investigations reported that the Soldotna Major Crimes Unit received a report that 39-year-old Soldotna resident Dawson Hermanns was in possession of Child Sex Abuse Material.
In an affidavit, Major Crimes Unit Investigator Edwin Anderson said he was alerted by an individual on Wednesday that a thumb drive belonging to Hermanns contained the illicit material. The individual told Anderson that the drive was located on Hermanns’s desk and that he was the only person believed to have access to it. Anderson met the individual with the drive at the Kenai Police Department.
In reviewing the drive’s contents, Anderson said it contained over 1,000 CSAM images and videos.
Anderson interviewed Hermanns Wednesday evening. He confessed that the drive belonged to him and that no one else had accessed it.
Hermanns was arrested without incident and remanded to Wildwood Pretrial Facility on ten counts of Possession of Child Pornography.
The investigation is still active and ongoing, and additional charges may be filed as the investigation continues.