Man accused of child sex trafficking now facing porn charges

Kim Dunlap, Kokomo Tribune, Ind.
Updated ·2 min read
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Apr. 11—A Kokomo man accused of child sex trafficking after a 14-year-old boy was found at his residence last month has now been charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography.

The 10 counts against 53-year-old Michael Horne are all level five felonies, according to online court records, and authorities say the new charges are a result of a March 19 search of Horne's property in the 4000 block of Independence Drive.

It was during that search that police located the 14-year-old Perry County boy that had been reported missing the day before, according to court documents, and investigators noted at the time that the boy appeared to look "lethargic," "out of it" and appeared to have a hickey on his neck.

Not too long after the boy was found, Horne was taken into custody without incident and formally charged with a level three felony charge of promotion of child sex trafficking.

But police also seized several other electronic devices that day too that they believe were connected to the investigation.

Authorities began analyzing those devices — a SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick flash drive and an iPhone 13 Pro Max — on March 24, court records state.

Investigators say that the result of the analysis on the flash drive reportedly revealed 1600 images and 700 videos of pornographic material, including numerous selfie images of Horne in a nude state and images of children as young as 4 years old in sexually explicit situations, according to court records.

Court records added that there were allegedly also other videos and images of boys approximately between 14-17 years of age, and investigators say that the flash drive was comprised of numerous folders "listing names and ages of the children."

Due to the organization of the content, investigators reportedly believe that Horne "took the time to create a file system for his child sexual abuse material," per court documents, which ranged from as early as 2003 to as recent as March 2023.

Officials note that these new charges against Horne were created after the defendant had already bonded out of jail on $25,000 cash only bond, and Horne is currently serving in-home detention as he awaits his next court date.

Horne has pleaded not guilty to the promotion of child sex trafficking.

He has an initial hearing at 9 a.m. May 2, inside Howard Superior Court II, for the 10 counts of possession of child pornography.