A Sweet Home man was arrested Dec. 8 and charged with four counts of encouraging child abuse in the first degree, Sheriff Tim Muller said last week.
Ronald Lynn Meadors Sr., 48, was arrested an lodged in Linn County Jail.
According to Mueller, at approximately 7:30 a.m. on Dec. 8, detectives from the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Sweet Home Police Department, executed a search warrant at 444 Maple Lane, Space 9A, in connection with the alleged downloading, possession and dissemination of videos depicting child pornography.
Mueller said investigators working an undercover operation during November became aware of a computer actively making available for download the illegal material. During the operation, investigators successfully downloaded several files from the computer, which depicted children being sexually abused, he said.
Mueller said Meadors’ son, Kenneth Josiah Meadors, 29, was cited and released at the scene for failure to register as a sex offender. That action was unrelated to the child pornography investigation, he said.