Two Evansville men arrested in separate child exploitation cases

EVANSVILLE — Tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children led to the arrest of two Evansville men Monday on charges of possessing child pornography.

The men were identified in Vanderburgh County jail booking records as 54-year-old Tony L. Murphy and 63-year-old Michael F. Borman. Both were being held Monday afternoon on $5,000 bail. Murphy and Borman each face 10 counts of possession of child pornography, a Level 5 felony, according to court records.

In affidavits filed by the Evansville Police Department and the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office, detectives wrote that online tips submitted between June and July 2023 prompted investigations into both men’s online activities, specifically their use of reverse image search tools. However, EPD Sgt. Trudy Day told the Courier & Press that police records showed no connection between the two cases or the two arrests.

Murphy is alleged to have possessed more than 1,400 images of child sexual abuse

On June 2, the EPD received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, or NCMEC, claiming that an “unknown individual” had used an image matching service to “search for child pornography,” a detective wrote in an affidavit.

The investigator explained that the tool searches for images similar to those a user uploads, often referred to as a visual search. The affidavit does not name the company, calling it only an “Electronic Service Provider.”

Investigators reportedly traced the suspicious search to Murphy’s home in the 1000 block of Edgar Street in Evansville, and in July 2023, police executed a search warrant there. Murphy was reportedly present at the home when EPD arrived.

“Murphy admitted that he used the (image search provider’s) service to search for child pornography,” his arrest affidavit states. “Murphy admitted that he was in possession of numerous files that he knew were child pornography.”

Forensic examination of computer equipment seized from Murphy’s home reportedly yielded 1,456 images of child sexual abuse and 145 videos of similar acts, the EPD said. More than 40 of the seized images and videos depicted “bondage” and “bestiality,” a detective wrote in an affidavit.

According to investigators, some of the children depicted in the seized files appeared to have been infants.

Murphy was booked into the Vanderburgh County Jail at 12:10 a.m. Monday. Court records show he has retained a private attorney and filed a motion seeking to obtain evidence prosecutors collected as a result of the law enforcement investigation.

The second tip also involved the alleged use of an image search tool

In July 2023, the sheriff’s office received a tip from NCMEC about suspicious Bing Image searches that led to an Evansville web address. Bing is a search engine operated by Microsoft. The searches flagged by NCMEC contained “child sexual abuse material,” according to public court records.

As a result of the VCSO investigation, detectives determined that the IP address associated with the searches was registered to Borman, who lived in the 500 block of Sterchi Drive. In March, detectives executed a search warrant at the residence.

“Borman denied viewing, searching, storing or saving (child abuse material),” Borman’s arrest affidavit states. “Borman indicated he was the sole occupant of the residence and that his Wi-Fi connection was password protected and no one else had access to it.”

According to the sheriff’s office, a forensic examination of Borman’s electronic devices yielded “thousands” of images depicting child sexual abuse.

“The children in the images range in age from toddlers to teenagers, are both (boys) and (girls) and are engaged in various sexual acts,” the statement said.

As of Monday afternoon, public court records did not yet indicate when Murphy and Borman would first appear in court or whether they had pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

You can contact Houston Harwood at [email protected].