BENTONVILLE -- A Rogers man was sentenced to 20 years in prison after admitting he photographed and shared sexually explicit images of a child.
Dale Mayer, 49, pleaded guilty Thursday to computer exploitation of a child and three counts of distributing, possession or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child.
Mayer was arrested Jan. 28.
The investigation involved police in Bentonville and Rogers.
David Loran Thompson, 52, of Bentonville was arrested in connection with the investigation.
Bentonville police began investigating in August after receiving information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children of child pornography possibly being posted on Tumblr, a social media tool, according to the affidavit. Police were able to trace the postings to Thompson, according to the affidavit.
Police questioned Thompson, who denied any involvement in viewing child pornography. He told police he's a truck driver and part of a nonprofit organization Truckers Against Trafficking, which trains truck drivers to recognize and report instances of human trafficking, according to the affidavit.
He admitted to being involved in a group on Tumblr with thousands of people and pornographic material could be sent within the group. Thompson told police people would get kicked out of the group for sharing images of child pornography, according to the affidavit.
Police seized three cellphones from Thompson, and he gave police permission to search the devices. Police found a video of a 16-year-old girl in a bathroom, according to the affidavit.
Police discovered the video had been sent to Mayer, a contact in Thompson's phone, according to the affidavit.
Police recovered sexually explicit images of a child on Mayer's cell phone, according to court documents.
Benton County Circuit Judge Robin Green sentenced Mayer. He will be required to register as a sex offender and he must complete a sexual offender treatment program.
Thompson is charged with five counts of distributing, possession or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child and two counts of video voyeurism. He previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.
His next court appearance is set for Aug. 19. He is free on $100,000 bond.