2 charged in child porn cases

MAT-SU - Two Mat-Su Borough men are facing charges of distributing and possessing child pornography.

One man, Ronnie J. Beasley II, 22, of Palmer, was jailed at Mat-Su Pretrial Facility as of Friday on one count each of distribution and possession of child pornography. A judge set Beasley's bail at $5,000, plus he will need a third-party custodian to promise to watch over him 24 hours a day.

The other - Edward J. Henn, 38, of Wasilla - is out of jail and staying at his mother's house in Wasilla, according to court documents filed in Palmer Superior Court. Henn was charged with two counts of possession and one count of distribution of child pornography. His mother is his third-party custodian.

Both Beasley and Henn have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

Details on the arrests were scarce this week.

The two cases involve separate investigations that went to a Palmer grand jury on the same day, authorities said. The grand jury handed down an indictment on Dec. 9, according to a state database of court records. An Alaska State Trooper served the two warrants on Dec. 13.

AST spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said she couldn't provide any details about the arrests.

The Palmer prosecutor handling the case for the state said she couldn't say much either. Assistant District Attorney Trina Sears handles sex crimes for the Palmer District Attorney's Office. Sears said she sees maybe a half-dozen child pornography cases get charged a year.

Asked about the distribution charge, Sears said investigators downloaded four images from Henn's IP address. She didn't have the details of Beasley's case available.

Beasley and Henn didn't appear to know each other, she said. Their cases are not connected.

Sears would not say how old the victims are or how the men came to be in possession of the criminal materials. Generally, she said, child pornography cases tend to involve victims quite a bit younger than 18, rather than 17- or 18-year-olds.

Court documents provide only slightly more information on the arrests.

According to a grand jury indictment, Beasley's arrest stemmed from activities involving child pornography on two days in May. Henn's indictment references one day in May and two in June.

A judge reduced Henn's bail from $5,000 to $2,500 on Dec. 16 and approved his third-party custodian. Superior Court Judge Eric Smith ordered Henn to have no access to computers or minors.

Henn's mother said he was not living with her at the time of his arrest, according to a transcript of his bail review hearing. She promised to store her computer or limit access.

Asked if children will be allowed to come to the house, Rosemarie Henn said "they won't now," according to the transcript. She promised to make sure her son wouldn't have access to children.

A call to Henn's home was not returned.