Court hearing soon for clown

— A professional clown arrested at his western Arkansas home on a child pornography charge likely will be arraigned next week, Fort Smith police said Thursday.

Thomas Harold Morgan, who also goes by the name “Sondance the Clown,” is accused of possessing child pornography, police spokesman Cpl. Steven Dooly said.

Morgan, 47, hadn’t been formally charged since his arrest Wednesday.

He was being held without bond at Sebastian County jail on Thursday. Dooly said he didn’t know whether Morgan has an attorney.

A prosecutor didn’t return phone messages seeking comment.

Authorities arrested Morgan after police found someone downloading child pornography over a file-sharing network and tracked the Internet Service Provider account to Morgan, Dooly said.

Police Capt. Alan Haney said Thursday he kept a file on Morgan after he was asked to leave the Arkansas-Oklahoma State Fair in 2010. Morgan didn’t have permission to be there dressed as a clown and promoting his business, Haney said in an e-mail, but Morgan was never cited or charged.

Haney said he checked Morgan’s background and didn’t find any criminal history involving child exploitation or endangerment at the time.

The file was destroyed to comply with the department’s policy, Haney said.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 8 on 06/22/2012

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