WASHBURN COUNTY -- Charges have been filed in Washburn County Circuit Court charging Brett Marker, owner of Marker Antiques in Spooner, WI, with possession of child pornography following an investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI).
A criminal complaint filed in April 2021 against Marker states that on April 1, 2021, Agents with DCI along with investigators for the Washburn County Sheriff’s Office made contact with Marker at his business. Marker was advised that the Agents wanted to speak with him about an ongoing investigation and get his help.
Marker agreed to speak with the Agents and an audio-recorded interview was conducted. Marker went on to tell agents that he accesses the internet through his laptop and his cell phone. Agents told Marker that the investigation involved online child exploitation material, and Marker said he understood, going on to tell the Agents that it makes more sense now why his Paypal account had been suspended in December 2020.
Marker told the Agents that for approximately 10 years he had utilized Skype to communicate with people. According to the criminal complaint filed against him, Marker went on to tell Agents that over a several-year time period he had received multiple videos containing images of children as young as 6 or 7 years of age being subjected to sexual activities. When asked if he knew the age of the children in the videos, Marker said that he was told that the videos were of young children. Marker also allegedly told agents that he had paid approximately $10 for approximately 4 to 6 videos containing child pornography sometime in 2020, although he could not remember exactly when.
The criminal complaint goes on to state that Marker told agents that he saved those videos to his laptop because he thought law enforcement would be interested in them. When Agents asked if he ever reported the videos to law enforcement, Marker indicated that he had not done so.
Marker signed a form giving Agents consent to search his devices. Agents allegedly discovered multiple files containing child pornography on Marker’s laptop, including videos of children as young as toddler age being subjected to sexual activities.
Marker is charged with 2 counts of Class Class D Felony Possession of Child Pornography. Online circuit court records show that at a hearing on April 5, 2021, the Court placed Marker on a cash bond of $2,500 which was posted that same day. Marker had an Initial Appearance regarding his charges on April 26, 2021, and is set to appear again in June 2021.
Pursuant to the direction of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, as found in Supreme Court Rule 20:3.6, Trial Publicly, you are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Last Update: Apr 27, 2021 1:19 pm CDT
