Staff Writer
Charges against a Pagosa Springs man arrested in October 2012 for possession of child pornography were dropped on Aug. 12.
The District Attorney’s Office dropped charges against John Vick, 43, following an investigation and discussions with experts.
“We felt that we couldn’t prove a knowing possession beyond a reasonable doubt,” Deputy District Attorney Alex Lowe said, commenting on the situation that led to the charges being dropped.
The Affidavit for Arrest Warrant in the case noted that Vick previously served as the fatherhood advocate for the Archuleta County Department of Human Services and was fired in April 2011 for violating department policy due to pornography allegedly being found on his work computer.
According to the affidavit, further investigation revealed pornographic websites in the browser history on Vick’s work computer, as well as photos reportedly containing child pornography.
Wednesday, Lowe said materials were initially found on the computer, but were within the computer’s Internet cache, meaning thumbnail images found could have appeared on an unrelated website (many websites tease additional stories or websites with thumbnail images) or through an unrelated Internet search (such as how Internet searches often reveal something that does not appear directly related to your search term because of terms embedded within a photo’s data).
Vick was contacted by The SUN, but declined to comment on the matter.
randi@pagosasun.com
