ST. LOUIS - A man from St. Louis has been charged with five separate counts of child pornography in addition to one count of attempted aggravated criminal sexual abuse, according to recently filed Madison County court documents.
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Terry M. Gerard, 46, of St. Louis, allegedly committed the child pornography offenses on or about Jan. 4, 2024, while the attempted aggravated criminal sexual abuse charge stems from an incident that occurred late last year.
According to a petition to deny Gerard’s pretrial release, the underage victim of the attempted aggravated criminal sexual abuse allegedly reported the incident to the Madison County Sheriff’s Department on Dec. 14, 2023. Deputies found evidence of an additional crime after seizing Gerard’s cell phone.
“Deputies seized the defendant's cellphone and pursuant to a search warrant conducted a forensic download,” the petition states. “Upon analysis of that download, deputies found the defendant to be in possession of at least five images of child pornography of female children under the age of 13.
“Deputies also located a video of the defendant hiding a hidden camera … where [the victim] was depicted nude from the waist up when [they were] 12 years of age. Finally, deputies found search terms on the defendant’s cell phone consistent with an attraction to underage [girls].”
Each of the six total charges Gerard faces are Class 2 felonies. Court documents indicate he was remanded to jail until his initial court appearance.
The issuance of charges is based solely upon probable cause and is not an indication of guilt. All subjects charged with criminal offenses are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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