Munster man arrested for possessing ‘hundreds’ of files of child porn material
MUNSTER, Ind. (WISH) — A Munster man is facing child exploitation charges following a months-long investigation by the Indiana State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Munster is a town in northwestern Indiana near Chicago, three hours north of Indianapolis.
State police investigators received more than 20 tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding an online account run by 32-year-old Michael Prestamer being used for child exploitation.
A probable cause affidavit obtained by News 8 says that detectives obtained a search warrant for Prestamer’s online accounts and located “10 zip files that contained multiple other zip files that contained multiple folders with countless files” of child sex abuse material.
Following the online search, officers conducted a traffic stop on Prestamer near his home in Munster on Wednesday. He was taken into custody without incident.
During questioning, docs say Prestamer admitted to police to possessing child pornography, as well as downloading and viewing the material while at work.
Prestamer told investigators that “he had ‘in the hundreds’ (of files) on his phone,” the probable cause says.
Officers also obtained search warrants of Prestamer’s home and place of work, and found more than 60 more files of child sex abuse material.
Online court documents say Prestamer is facing six felony charges for possession of child pornography and possessing child pornography with an aggravating factor.
He was being held at the Lake County jail on a $90,000 surety and $9,000 cash bond, but was not listed as an inmate as of Friday. An initial hearing for Prestamer has not been scheduled.
