A federal magistrate in Gainesville orders 35-year-old Christopher Michael Welcher to remain in jail until his trial on child pornography charges because “no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety of another person or the community…”
As Now Habersham reported first on Monday, Welcher was arrested after a search at a Clarkesville address on Friday. Agents say they found more than 255,000 images of “Child and Adult pornography” on external hard drives and more than 300 images of “child pornography” on a mobile phone belonging to Welcher.
Read more about how computer traffic in New Zealand led to Welcher’s arrest here.
At this morning’s hearing at the Federal Courthouse in downtown Gainesville, United States Magistrate Judge J. Clay Fuller declared, “In light of the defendant’s online chat detailing fantasies involving ten to fourteen year old girls and the fact that it is impractical to monitor potential interactions between Defendant and minor visitors to the campsite where he serves as resident manager, the Court finds that the defendant has not rebutted the presumption and grants the Government’s motion for pretrial detention.”
The “online chat” the judge referenced as part of the evidence presented was allegedly between Welcher and an undercover officer. According to investigators he said, “I like 10-14 year olds,” and “For me it is the girls who are just starting to grow. For some reason those I like best.”
The campsite where Welcher reportedly lives and works is located on Buckhorn Circle just north of the Habersham County line near Lake Burton.
During Friday’s search, Special Agent Mark Sewell claims Welcher admitted to possessing the child porn images and claimed he first came into possession of them while working as a computer repairman. “During repairs, he would steal child pornography from a customer’s computer,” Sewell says.
Welcher is still being held at the Hall County Jail. If convicted he faces up to 20 years in prison according to the US Code on exploitation of minors.
