Paul Imhoff, a 29-year-old man from Bedford, has been charged with child exploitation, a Level 5 felony and voyeurism, a Level 6 felony, following an Indiana State Police investigation that began in December.
On Dec. 30, 2022, Det. Robert Whyte with the ISP was informed by law enforcement in Lawrence County that a caller had reportedly located child pornography, including photos of a juvenile relative, on her husband’s phone.
Lawrence County Officer Tillett responded to the residence and spoke with the caller.
According to the probable cause affidavit, she found “weird” messages on an old phone belonging to Imhoff, including pornographic images of children under the age of 10 engaging in sexual acts.
There were other pictures of the caller’s relative, who was under 18, in a bathroom.
Imhoff arrived at the residence while Tillett was there and Whyte also responded. Imhoff reportedly “admitted” to what was located on the phone, according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, Imhoff said that he was “no longer the same person that he was three years ago” and that it was “the worst thing he had ever done in his life and regretted it ever since.”
He told police that he had downloaded the images and kept them in a folder on his folder with the intent to delete them later. He also told police that he knew that the six of the photos in the folder were of children.
When asked about the photo of his wife’s relative, he said that he was “in a really dark place.”
Imhoff’s wife said that the photos were taken in a bathroom at a family cabin at Abe Martin Lodge in Brown County State Park.
Through the investigation, ISP determined the photos to have been taken in August of 2019, and were screenshots of a video filmed on a “hidden secret camera” on the bathroom floor facing the shower, according to the affidavit.
Due to the manufacturing of child pornography and voyeurism occurring in Brown County, ISP requested a warrant through the Brown County Prosecutor’s Office.
Imhoff was formally charged on Jan. 11. An initial hearing for Imhoff was held at the Brown County Courthouse on Jan. 17, a pretrial conference is scheduled for Feb. 28 followed by a jury trial on March 15.
