December 6, 2024

JURY SAYS GUILTY & 1,760 YEARS FOR CHILD PORN

COVINGTON- On April 18, 2023, Covington Police received a report from a local computer repair shop after one of their technicians found images of child sexual assault on a customer’s computer. Covington Detectives Dave Lillich and Austin Ross responded to the shop and seized the computer which belonged to Caine D. Carter, 30, of Covington. Subsequent forensic examination of Carter’s computer identified over 1,000 saved images and videos depicting minors engaged in sexual performances across the computer’s multiple hard drives.

“Cases with this much evidence require a judgment call about how many charges to file," explained Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Emily J. Arnzen, who prosecuted the case. "1,000 files theoretically should mean 1,000 counts, but would require us to victimize all of those children again by showing a courtroom full of people their sexual assault. It also subjects jurors to seeing all 1,000 photos or videos," said Arnzen. "If the law would allow a Defendant to receive a sentence for each of those 1,000 files then I would proceed on every available charge, but Kentucky law caps numerical sentences long before 1,000,” she explained. “In this case, sought Indictment for the 177 unique images of child victims who have already been identified with the assistance of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.”

Trial began on December 3, 2024, before Kenton Circuit Judge Kate Molloy. Over the three-day trial, the jury heard testimony from the technician and manager of the computer repair shop, Covington Police Computer Forensic Analyst Ron Trenkamp, and Covington Police Detectives Lillich and Ross. The jury also heard from Caine's mother who dropped off the computer for repair and identified the computer as Carter’s. The jury found the Defendant guilty of all 177 counts.

Because Possession of Matter Portraying a Sexual Performance by a Minor is a Class D felony for children under 18 years old and a Class C felony for children under 12 years old, Kentucky law at the time of the offense capped an offender’s total sentence at 20 years. The “Safer Kentucky Act,” which went into effect on July 15, 2024, removed that 20 year cap for cases involving 2 or more child sex victims so going forward, similar offenders now face up to 70 years in prison.

At sentencing, defense attorneys asked the jury to show Carter mercy by imposing sentences on the lower end of the penalty range. In response, Arnzen argued the jury’s sentence would not only punish Carter but also send a message to anyone else in Kenton County who commit the same crimes, and seek to derive pleasure from the victimization of children, and then ask for mercy in a courtroom. The jury wasted no time in recommending the maximum sentence on each count, to run consecutively, for a total of 1,760 years in prison. Despite the jury's sentence, Kentucky law limits Caine's actual sentence to only 20 years.

Of the 177 counts of Possession of Matter Portraying a Sexual Performance by a Minor for which Caine was indicted, 175 of the files depicted children under 12 years old, with some being as young as infants and toddlers. “The subject matter was absolutely horrific, with these young children being subjected to several different types of sexual assault, but there was a constant throughout all of the images... Carter’s attraction to prepubescent girls,” said Arnzen. “As I told the jury, I am sorry 12 more people had to see these children be assaulted and the Foreperson of the jury had to sign their name to 177 verdict forms, but it’s worth it to stop even just one person from perpetuating the unique trauma of sexual assault imagery,” said Arnzen

Final, formal sentencing will be held before Judge Molloy on January 13, 2025 at 9am in Courtroom 7A of the Kenton County Justice Center. 

For additional information contact:

Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders

rsanders@prosecutors.ky.gov

(859) 292-6580