A Durango man suspected of downloading thousands of images of child pornography was formally charged Thursday with six felonies.
Lucas Schoepke, 36, faces three counts of possessing a video of child pornography and three counts of possessing more than 20 “items” that “qualify as sexually exploitative,” according to charging documents. The Class 4 felonies are punishable by two to six years in prison and/or a fine of $2,000 to $500,000.
Assistant District Attorney David Ottman said the penalties for each charge, if Schoepke pleads guilty or is convicted, could run concurrently or consecutively – it depends on the outcome.
Law enforcement accused Schoepke of downloading 1,825 images and 176 videos of suspected child pornography onto an HP laptop and ZTE cellphone.
An investigator with the Internet Crimes Against Children task force identified potential child pornography being downloaded through an internet protocol address associated with a home in the 200 block of Wood Crest Drive and notified La Plata County Sheriff’s investigators, according to an arrest affidavit.
An internet protocol address, or IP address, is a numerical label assigned for the purpose of identifying an electronic device that accesses the internet.
Sheriff’s Office investigators searched the home in the 200 block of Wood Crest Drive and found Schoepke, the HP laptop with a hard drive with the user name “Lucas” and the ZTE cellphone in Schoepke’s pocket, according to the affidavit.
Schoepke’s defense attorney and a prosecutor spent about five minutes speaking in private with District Court Judge Suzanne Carlson at a charging and bail hearing Thursday. After the private conversation, Carlson rescheduled the bail hearing to Thursday, June 6. The La Plata County Sheriff’s Office will hold Schoepke in the La Plata County Jail on $50,000 bail.
bhauff@durangoherald.com