Information has been released about what lead to a Warsaw man’s residence being searched and his arrest last week on child pornography and drug charges.
Aaron Walter Burchett, 35, of 3762 E. Old 30, #702, Warsaw, is charged with possession of a firearm by a serious felon, a level 4 felony; possession of methamphetamine, a level 5 felony; possession of a syringe, a level 6 felony; possession of a legend drug, a level 6 felony; possession of a controlled substance, a class a misdemeanor; possession of marijuana, a class B misdemeanor; possession of paraphernalia, a class C misdemeanor; and three counts of possession of child pornography, level 5 felonies.
He was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail at 12:41 p.m. Thursday.
According to a probable cause affidavit, on July 25, 2022, a detective with the Indiana State Police received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about apparent child pornography that dated to July 13, 2022.
Google reported a user account that uploaded 15 files which were stored in the Google files infrastructure. Google viewed some files to extent to confirm it contained alleged child sexual abuse material.
Multiple internet protocol (IP) addresses were recovered from the reported account and several geolocated within Kosciusko County.
On July 26, 2022, the detective submitted a preservation request to Google for the accounts. On Dec. 6, 2022, the detective found there were other cyber tips leading to the email associated with the accounts.
A subpoena was given for the reported IP address(es) and a search warrant for the email accounts.
The detective was then able to look through open-source information and located Burchett residing in Warsaw and the detective verified through Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles records Burchett’s address.
There were allegedly 895 videos and 3,345 pictures located in one Google account, with a mixture of adult and child pornographic pictures present. In another account, there were 443 videos and 465 pictures, which were also a mixture of adult and child sexual abuse material.
On March 6, 2023, an internet provider told the detective they had no subscriber information for the requested IP address.
On Oct. 13, 2023, the detective saw there were two additional cyber tips associated with the email address. The IP address geolocated near the Warsaw area.
A subpoena was submitted to the internet provider for information on the IP address. The internet provider stated they could not identify the subscriber account and only keep information on IP addresses for six months.
On Oct. 18 the detective drafted a search warrant.
At about 8:57 a.m. Thursday, the ISP SWAT team arrived at the residence and called out the occupants. Three subjects exited and the SWAT team cleared the home.
The Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations executed the search and seizure of electronics and other items.
The detective spoke with Burchett. Burchett said he gives people a relative’s number if they need to contact him. Burchett said he doesn’t have data on his phone, so he uses his home WiFi. He said he uses free texting apps or random numbers online and doesn’t use his cell phone. Burchett said he did have internet access and it was in his name.
The detective asked in Burchett ever sent child porn on the apps and Burchett said yes, according to court documents.
Burchett recognized the emails associated with the cyber tips, but said he hadn’t used them for some time. Burchett said he got a notification the accounts were shut down.
Burchett told investigators he last saw child pornography a few days prior. He said he doesn’t always search for it, but doesn’t stray away from it either. Burchett admitted to saving child pornography, according to court documents.
According to a second probable cause affidavit, when Burchett’s residence was searched, contraband was found including a digital scale, two glass smoking devices, two vape cartridges that later field tested positive for marijuana, hypodermic syringes, three glass vials with white residue, four zip lock bags that contained a white residue that later field tested positive for methamphetamine and pills that were identified as Orphenadrine Citrate, Ketorolac Tromethamine, Gabapentine and Amlodipine Beylate. A dismantled 9mm gun was also found.
When the detective was talking to Burchett, Burchett showed track marks from injecting narcotics. Burchett also said he repaired a shotgun for his grandfather, but denied knowledge of handgun parts located in his bedroom.
Burchett was convicted on dealing methamphetamine on April 22, 2018, in Kosciusko County.