ST. GEORGE — A 66-year-old Hurricane man was arrested Tuesday after he failed to appear in court on a case of alleged child pornography possession.
Russell McGonigle was arrested on a $50,000 warrant issued out of 5th District Court July 19 after failing to show up for a scheduled appearance on five second-degree felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. Following his arrest, he was booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane.
“Officers were going through the list of active warrants yesterday when this individual’s warrant came up, and they responded to his home and took him into custody without incident,” Hurricane City Police officer Ken Thompson explained.
The charges stem from an investigation initiated in April 2018 when authorities received information that the defendant had child pornography on his computer, according to court documents outlining the charges filed against him.
Through the course of the investigation, detectives went to the suspect’s residence and, armed with a search warrant, seized a computer and several other electronic devices that were later forensically examined.
The examiner submitted a report alleging that a file on the computer contained what appeared to be images of child pornography.
The case was turned over to the Washington County Attorney’s Office for review, and the charges were filed May 30, after which a summons was sent to McGonigle notifying him of the July hearing he was ordered to attend.
On Wednesday, a release order was signed by Judge G. Michael Westfall, and the defendant was scheduled to be released on his own recognizance with a promise to appear for a review hearing scheduled Aug. 28.
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