Hastings MN man charged with 12 counts of possessing child porn
By Crime Watch MN, May 27, 2022
Note: This report contains details about child sexual abuse that some may find upsetting
A Hastings man is facing twelve counts of possessing electronic images of child pornography, some depicting children as young as infants.
Charges say that Richard Arlen Boyer, 35, also engaged in chat conversations with other child porn app users during which he graphically described his sexual attraction to children and said he had plans to divorce his wife and adopt a little girl.
Hastings police began investigating Boyer in February 2021 after receiving a case referral from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, “BCA.” The BCA had received a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding numerous uploads of child sexual abuse material by a user of a messaging application called “Kik.”
The IP address, device information, and subscriber information associated with the uploads were linked to the residence of Boyer.
Investigators reviewed sixteen videos uploaded to Kik over several days in October 2020. The videos depicted very young male and female victims — primarily between the approximate ages of 5 to 8-years-old — being subjected to numerous forms of graphic sexual penetration and other abuse.
Investigators searched Boyer’s cell phone and discovered another Kik account and several email accounts that appeared to be associated with Boyer. The phone revealed thousands of messages between Boyer and other users on Kik, many of which included sharing and discussing child sexual abuse material. Videos accessed by Boyer on several dates in February and March 2021 were reviewed by an investigator.
The videos depicted very young male and female children — including infants — being subjected to numerous forms of sexual penetration and other abuse.
Under questioning, Boyer admitted to using Kik, but denied having any knowledge about the sexual abuse material or the usernames associated with the uploads. However, Boyer told investigators that he was the only person who uses his phone and that it’s the only device he uses to access the internet.
Law enforcement submitted a DVD with suspected child sexual abuse material to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in order to determine whether any of the material possessed and/or uploaded by Boyer depicted known, identified victims. On March 30, 2022, police received the results. The Center identified 155 images and 91 videos from Boyer’s phone as files depicting minor victims who had been identified in other investigations as sexual abuse victims.
At the time of his arrest, investigators believed Boyer was living in a home with several minor children.
Boyer posted a $50,000 conditional release bond shortly after his initial court appearance and was released from custody. Boyer has retained a private attorney and is scheduled to make his next court appearance on June 1 in Dakota County District Court.
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