A former Ball State instructor of mathematical sciences was found guilty of four counts of child exploitation and four counts of possession of child pornography Monday.
Brian Siebenaler was originally arrested in 2016 on 36 preliminary charges — 22 counts of possession of child pornography and 14 counts of child exploitation — after an investigation assisted by the Indiana State Police Cyber Crime Unit.
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According to the probable cause affidavit from Siebenaler's original arrest on April 4, 2016, University Police Department detectives were notified by Ball State's Information Technology Services that "suspicious activity" was observed on a university computer in an open classroom in the Robert Bell Building.
The computer was removed from the room, and a forensic exam was conducted. However, no pornography was found on the computer because it was loaded with software that deletes all content when a user logs off.
On May 7, 2016, University Police received an alert that more suspicious activity was coming from Robert Bell. Upon arrival, UPD found Siebenaler attempting to close computer windows and found a USB drive plugged into the computer.
Siebenaler told police the USB drive was his and contained erotic stories and photographs of nude men and boys between the ages of 10-15. Upon further inspection of his office and his home, police found thousands of images and videos of nude and semi-nude boys.
At that time, Siebenaler was barred from campus and was not allowed to teach anymore classes.
Circuit Court I Judge Marianne Vorhees submitted her judgment Monday, though the official sentencing won't take place until April 30.
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