A Bayfield man accused of sexual exploitation of a child is being held in the La Plata County Jail on $25,000 bail as prosecutors determine whether to file formal charges.
Durango police detective Josh Newman, an officer with the Colorado Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, accuses Robert Todd Jolly, 48, of possessing, distributing and exploiting child pornography since at least 2010, according to court documents.
Law enforcement accused Jolly of committing a Class 4 felony, punishable by two to six years in prison and a fine of $2,000 to $500,000.
Prosecutors with the authority to charge people with violating Colorado law had not filed a criminal complaint as of Tuesday afternoon. The Durango Police Department posted Jolly’s booking photo and allegations surrounding his arrest on its Facebook page.
Law enforcement accuses Jolly of having access to hundreds of photos and an unknown number of videos of child pornography through Yahoo and Google accounts. Police arrested him before searching his residence on suspicion that he had devices capable of accessing those accounts and downloading the illicit files.
It is unclear when, or if, law enforcement searched Jolly’s home and what may have been seized. Durango Police Department spokesman Ray Shupe did not immediately return a call seeking information.
Law enforcement in Houston began investigating Jolly last year after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Google reported in July 2018 that an image of suspected “child exploitation” was uploaded and stored on an account linked to Jolly, according to arrest documents.
Texas investigators executed search warrants in late 2018 seeking information from Yahoo and Google about email accounts linked to Jolly. The companies reported to law enforcement that they found videos and photographs of child pornography on accounts, according to arrest documents.
Law enforcement also found Jolly is a former employee with the police department in Humble, Texas. He moved to Bayfield in 2018, according to the DPD’s Facebook post. Law enforcement suspects he uploaded and distributed images of child pornography while in Colorado, according to arrest documents.
Jolly was employed as a security guard at Mercy Regional Medical Center; hospital administrators “suspended” him after his arrest last week, according to the Durango Police Department. His next scheduled court appearance is Friday.
bhauff@durangoherald.com