Man pleads not guilty to child porn charges in Bowie County

Roger Dale Ross II, 36,
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A Hooks, Texas man accused of sharing child pornography on the Internet plead not guilty Monday at a hearing in Texarkana.
Roger Dale Ross II, 36, appeared with Texarkana lawyer Shorty Barrett for arraignment before 202nd District Judge Leon Pesek, Jr. on an indictment handed down last month in Bowie County. Pesek set Ross for a pretrial hearing in October.
Ross became the target of a local investigation when an officer with the Dallas Crimes Against Children Task Force forwarded information to the Bowie County Sheriff’s Office concerning a pornographic image of a very young girl uploaded to Instagram, a probable cause affidavit shows. Dallas authorities provided information linking Ross to the user name, “nolimitdad.”
While an email address linked to the account turned out to be non-existent, investigators were able to trace the Internet Protocol address from which the offensive picture was sent to a relative of Ross’ with whom he once lived and often visits. During a June 12, 2014 interview with BCSO Investigator Robby McCarver, Ross denied any knowledge of the child porn and investigators simply didn’t have enough evidence to formally charge him.
In October however, more evidence became available. Investigators confirmed that an email address and phone number which were used to correspond with a pedophile in Vermont, belong to Ross.
“Through a subpoena issued to Google, they were able to provide recent Internet access IP addresses from the same phone and gmail account that was associated with Roger Dale Ross II,” the affidavit states. “Roger Dale Ross II engaged in sexually explicit conversations with the Vermont defendant that clearly acknowledge the intent to distribute child pornography.”
A photo Ross reportedly sent to the defendant in Vermont depicts a young girl performing a sex act on an adult male. According to the affidavit, investigators believe Ross posted a sexually explicit image of a child to Instagram and shared child pornography with the defendant in Vermont.
Ross could receive two to ten years in prison if found guilty of possessing child pornography. Ross is currently free on a $30,000 bond.
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