Man jailed in child porn case

ALBANY, Ga. — Acting on information from a federal agency, Dougherty County Sheriff’s Deputies raided a 3600 Newton Road residence and arrested a man on possession of child pornography Dec. 5, said Capt. Craig Dodd.

Christopher Eugene Barton, 35, remained in Dougherty County Jail at 5 p.m. Thursday in lieu if $1,000 bail, stated the jail’s automated answering system. He is also charged with possession of firearms by a felon, it added.

Executing a search warrant, deputies picked Barton up at his residence, which he shares with 36-year-old Ila Evangeline Lewis, Dodd said. Both were charged with misdemeanor possession of less than an ounce marijuana and Lewis was not in jail, He added.

Lewis’ four, under-16-year-old children were also at the home, Dodd added. All the children were unrelated to Barton and left in the care of Lewis, he said.

Deputies confiscated three pistols, a Taurus .45-caliber pistol, a Smith and Wesson .38-caliber handgun, a Glock .40-caliber and a rifle, an AK-47, during the raid, Dodd said.

Lewis called The Albany Herald and said Dodd had much of the information wrong. She said she didn’t know Barton, her fiance, downloaded child porn to watch.

“I don’t know if he did or not. If he did, then there is punishment for him,” Lewis said. “But I want help for him with this. jail doesn’t rehabilitate people. I want him to get help.”

All but one of the guns, including the AK-47, were legally registered to her, Lewis said. The AK-47 wasn’t an automatic version. She bought it because it was cheaper than other hunting rifles, she added.

“His youngest daughter is 5,” Lewis said. “She misses him so much, she asks, ‘Where is my daddy’ every hour.”

Lewis said she is seeking an attorney to defend Barton. She doesn’t believe Barton is a pedophile just because he might have viewed child porn.

“He comes from a broken home and he needs help,” Lewis said. “I want to get him help and then go back to work, have the kids in school and do what I have been doing, being an upstanding member of the community.”

Dodd said the community is better off with Barton out of circulation. He said he believes men who watch child porn become or at least “lean toward” pedophilia.

“He (Barton) said he had a fascination with it,” Dodd said, “even though he knew it was wrong.”

Computer forensic technicians continue to examine the electronics confiscated.