INDIANAPOLIS — More charges have been filed against IMPD Sgt. Javed Richards, who is accused of sharing pornographic videos of children.
Charges were initially filed against the Sgt. on Wednesday, including several counts of child exploitation and one count of possession of child pornography.
However, after the charges were filed, detectives say they found more pictures on his phone of young girls under the age of 12 posing nude.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears tells WRTV this is just the start of a major investigation. He expects even more charges are on the way.
Right now, if convicted, Richards faces a maximum of 162 years in prison.
Police said Richards' hid behind the username "Chasepleez" on the messaging app KIK, where he’s accused of uploading, downloading and sharing explicit content, including child pornography.
Detectives found videos from 15 seconds to two minutes in length of young girls believed to be under the age of 12. They were engaging in sexual acts with adult men.
WATCH PREVIOUS COVERAGE | IMPD officer facing child exploitation charges is "embarrassed"
Those images and videos were traded in group chats where code words like NL for "no limits" were used.
During Richards' interview with detectives, the 12-year-veteran said he no longer has a KIK account. When pressed about the chats, he said, "I don't even know how I ended up there" and went on to say, "so dumb."
Richards used a VPN, but the connection dropped, and his computer switched to his personal WiFi in his apartment, which alerted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Prosecutor Mears calls the allegations against Richards disturbing. He says his office, along with IMPD, are working on a “top-notch investigation.”
Investigators say they are still going through Richards’ phone, tablets, laptops, and other devices, and are still looking into who was on the receiving end of his messages.
“Once we are in, we will have a clearer picture of what’s going on, but also determine who are these images being sent to and if other jurisdictions or police agencies need to become involved,” Prosecutor Mears said.
On Thursday Richards pled not guilty in court. He posted his $4,000 cash bond but had to surrender his passports and firearms to the court.
