Neighbors of a same-sex couple in Maryland were shocked to learn they had been arrested for possessing child pornography after receiving a tip from Ikea.
Robert Scherer, 41, and Robert Books, 54. arrested on wednesday after police received a tip that Scherer was suspected of downloading child pornography onto his work computer. He worked as a senior resolution generalist at his IKEA in White Marsh.
After confirming the accusations, the Sweden-based company informed the Swedish police about the surprising discovery. Police notified Maryland State Police, who began investigating the couple in March.
rear investigation The couple’s North Calvert Street home was searched by the Maryland Computer Crimes Task Force, and police said they found more child pornography on multiple devices, including a cell phone.
The two are being held at the Baltimore City Detention Center, with court hearings scheduled for May. Scherer was charged with five counts of possession of child pornography, and Books was charged with three counts of possession of child pornography.
Neighbors told WJZ-TV they were shocked by the arrest because the neighborhood is very quiet and everyone knows each other.
“I’m devastated,” said Christine Carbone, who has two sons, ages 7 and 8. “I saw some activity over there the other day, but it wasn’t what I thought.”
She said she is reconsidering allowing the boys to walk to a nearby neighborhood park and play on their own.
“It’s about feeling safe in the neighborhood, but that’s certainly a concern because the kids are old enough to go to the playground on their own, so it might make you reconsider,” she added.
Other neighbors were alarmed by the incident, but said they were not concerned for their safety.
Carol Westcott Baker, a woman who has lived in the neighborhood for 24 years, said: “It’s shocking, but the reality is that if there was an operation to figure out who they were and to catch them, they were caught.” ” he said.
“I know everyone on this side of the street, so I’m not worried,” she added.
“In my experience, it’s mild,” Michael Walsh said. “We’ll never know, but hopefully this is a one-off or a very rare event.”
According to residents who lived near the couple, the couple usually refrained from going out.
Reports regarding this incident are as follows:
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