A Phoenix man who allegedly downloaded images of children in sexual poses at Hayden Library was arrested and charged with eight counts of sexual exploitation of a minor earlier this month.
Police reportedly found thousands of images of young girls on USB drives that 44-year-old Michael D. Williams used at the library on Feb. 1, according to records released Tuesday by the ASU Department of Public Safety.
Police report all the children depicted were clothed but that some of the images showed girls between the ages of 5 and 10 wearing provocative clothing and posed in sexual positions.
A search of Williams' residence on Feb. 4 allegedly revealed two drawings depicting nude children and a printed picture of a girl under the age of 10 in a bikini.
Police arrested Williams that night at his workplace in Phoenix, and he was booked into the Maricopa County Jail early the next morning.
Williams, a registered sex offender, had previously been arrested on child pornography charges in Oregon and Tennessee, but allegedly told a DPS detective "he has been trying to do better and has been deleting any images of nude children that he inadvertently downloads."
He reportedly told police he looks at the images "just about" every day and that he used Hayden Library "due to the amount of time he could be online and the amount of privacy he could have at certain terminals."
Police were called to the library on Feb. 1 because of a complaint that Williams was looking at child pornography on the third floor.
The officer who responded to the call determined the images did not constitute child pornography, but "were against ASU and library policy concerning what is acceptable viewing material."
Upon approaching Williams, who was working at a computer that "is on a cubicle-type desk and can be viewed by people walking by," the DPS detective allegedly discovered Williams had windows open on his computer containing images of clothed young girls.
After being questioned, Williams gave police permission to search his USB drives and "was warned of trespassing and loitering on University property and libraries" before leaving the library, the detective reports.
Reach the reporter at brian.indrelunas@asu.edu.
