KINGMAN – A Lake Havasu City man charged in a child pornography case is standing trial in Kingman. Attorneys presented opening statements following jury selection Monday in the case against Johnathan Kroll, 38.
Kroll is charged with five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor involving five videos. Deputy Mohave County Attorney Leah Nelson told the jury that the Lake Havasu City Police Department received two cyber tips regarding Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) discovered in separate accounts on the “Kik” social media platform.
Nelson told jurors that they would view each of the five videos of children engaged in sexual activity. She said the longest video is 1:13 in length and that each of the others is less than one minute in duration.
Nelson promised she would prove that Kroll knowingly possessed the CSAM and shared it with others through the Kik accounts.
Child crime detective Tara Flagg testified she used search warrants to gain information from Google, Verizon and Kik to link the CSAM to the defendant. She said she confirmed Kroll’s cell phone number, email address and two of his Kik accounts with usernames Lhcjk_21y and Jon8640_v40.
Defense attorney Bob Heieck was very succinct in his opening statement.
Heieck urged the jury to be open-minded and attentive. Though he didn’t detail any particular defense, he asked the panel to pay close attention and return not guilty verdicts.
Dave Hawkins
