72-year-old Columbia man arrested for having child pornography

A 72-year-old Columbia man is behind bars after police allegedly found more than 700 child pornography images on his computer.

Conrad E. Brin was arrested Wednesday morning at his home after a nearly month-long investigation.

In August, detectives with the Boone County Cyber Crimes Task Force found a home network in Columbia that was offering child porn through a file sharing program. The detective downloaded several of the files and was able to trace the files back to Brin’s house.

On Wednesday, investigators searched the house and found several computers and hard drives containing hundreds of child porn photos and videos. Authorities say some of the videos showed children as young as eight years old.

Brin was arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography and is in the Boone County jail on a $50,000 cash-only bond.

This was the county’s second child pornography arrest in four days.

“The state of Missouri is probably the most aggressive state in the United States for looking for funding and apprehending people who would distribute child pornography,” said Andy Anderson, detective for the Boone County Cyber Crimes Task Force.

Since Jan. 1, 2013, the task force has made 19 child pornography arrests.