Pendleton Man Faces Felony Counts Related to Child Sex Crimes
PENDLETON, Ind.–A 24-year-old man from Pendleton was arrested Thursday on seven felony counts related to child sex crimes.
The Hamilton County Metro ICAC Task Force, which is headquartered at the Fishers Police Department, says they started investigating Jonathan Wesley Peternel after getting a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The CyberTip submitted by Snapchat is one that police say showed five files of suspected child sex abuse material involving prepubescent children.
“Detectives with the Hamilton County Metro ICAC Task Force served a search warrant on the suspect’s Snapchat account, where more Child Sex Abuse Material was discovered, along with evidence that Peternel was disseminating videos to other users. A search warrant was conducted on Peternel’s residence, where further evidence was located showing that he possessed over 200 files of Child Sex Abuse Material. Some of this included sadomasochistic child abuse, children that appeared to be drugged or intoxicated while being abused, violent child molestation, and photorealistic AI-generated photos of nude pregnant toddlers,” said the Task Force in a Thursday afternoon news release.
Peternel was taken to the Madison County Jail. He is facing the following charges:
-Child Exploitation (Dissemination), a Level 4 Felony (1 count)
-Possession of Child Sex Abuse Material, a Level 5 Felony (6 counts)
-Dissemination of Child Sex Abuse Material, a Level 5 Felony (1 count)
-Possession of Child Sex Abuse Material, a Level 6 Felony (1 count)
The task force is comprised of detectives from the following agencies: Carmel Police Department, Fishers Police Department, Greenfield Police Department, Westfield Police Department, Noblesville Police Department, Anderson Police Department, Hamilton County Sheriff, Madison County Sheriff, and the Department of Homeland Security. The task force focuses on internet crimes against children and investigates child exploitation cases in Hamilton, Hancock, Madison, and Tipton counties.
