After meeting a Hawthorne Brook Middle School student in a chat room last September, Hunold met other students and allegedly enticed them into revealing information about themselves and their classmates. By using the relative anonymity of the Internet and the personal information he collected from the students, Hunold allegedly made it seem like he attended the school, according to court records. During these on-line chats, Hunold allegedly directed the students to websites that contained child pornography. On Oct. 22, a State Trooper assigned to AG Reilly's High Technology and Computer Crimes Division, Townsend police, the Missouri Attorney General's Office and the Smithville, Mo., Police Department executed a search warrant of Hunold's home and computer. Hunold, who faces similar charges in Missouri, is scheduled for trial there on Sept. 25.
All defendants are innocent until proven guilty.
Assistant Attorney General John Grossman, Chief of AG Reilly's High Technology and Computer Crimes Division, and Assistant Attorney General Julie Ross of the same unit, are prosecuting the case. Office and Townsend Police jointly investigated the case with the assistance of Missouri authorities.