Farmington corrections officer arrested for child pornography

Aaron Lee Cowling. St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department

St. Francois County prosecutors charged Aaron Lee Cowling, 41, of Farmington, with three felony counts of first-degree promotion of child pornography last week. Cowling was released from employment with the Missouri Department of Corrections in Farmington upon his arrest.

A probable cause statement from the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) says a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) was received in October. The tip included a Google account number and an IP address that was sharing files of child pornography. The files were shared from the Google account on Sept. 2.

MSHP investigators reviewed the files reported in the tip and verified they did include pornographic images of children. A GIF file portrayed a naked adult man with four naked girls who ranged in age from 5 to 10 years. The man forced the children to use their hands and mouths on his genitalia. A second file contained a jpeg of a girl around 7 or 8 years old exposing her genitals and backside while seated in a chair. The third file reviewed was a jpeg showing a girl around 7 or 8 years old, wearing only high heels and stockings, being raped by an adult man.

Investigators traced the Google account and IP address to Cowling. Police interviewed Cowling on Nov. 1. During the interview, Cowling denied viewing and uploading child pornography. Cowling allowed investigators to search his phone, which police allege contained the Google account provided by the cyber tip. Two email addresses were given to investigators during the interview. Cowling said one was an old email account that was recently shut down. No information was provided to determine if pornographic material existed on Cowling’s phone or within his email.

A review of Cowling’s criminal history of Missouri Case Net shows numerous traffic tickets, an order of protection, and a Farmington municipal assault charge. Cowling is in the St. Francois County Jail on a $200,000 cash or surety bond. A confined docket hearing is scheduled for Nov. 9 at 8:30 a.m. A counsel status hearing is scheduled for Nov. 16 at 1:30 p.m.

Jeannie Northrup is a staff writer with the Daily Journal. She can be reached at jnorthrup@dailyjournalonline.com