From the Indiana State Police – Bloomington District:
In Lawrence County yesterday, Troopers with the Indiana State Police Bloomington District and Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) arrested a man from Mitchell on charges of child exploitation, possession of child pornography, and possession of controlled substances.
The investigation by the Indiana State Police ICAC began in December 2021, when three cyber tips were received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Those tips along with an extensive investigation by Trooper Robert Whyte resulted in search warrants being served at the home of Allen D. Kemple, a 30-year-old from Mitchell. While serving the search warrants Trooper Whyte also uncovered additional images of child pornography, including material that had been altered by Mr. Kemple, thus the investigation was upgraded to a Manufacturing Child Pornography case. Kemple was arrested and transported to the Lawrence County Jail for the following charges,
- One Count of Child Exploitation, Level 4 Felony
- Five Counts of Possession of Child Pornography under 12 years of age, Level 5 Felony
- Four Counts of Possession of Child Pornography, Level 6 Felony
- One Count of Possession of Methamphetamine, Level 6 Felony
- One Count of Possession of Marijuana, Class B Misdemeanor
- One Count of Possession of Paraphernalia, Class C Misdemeanor
An arrest photo may be obtained from the Lawrence County Jail.
All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Trooper Whyte was assisted by Trooper Ben Burris along with representatives from the Lawrence County Prosecutors Office and the Lawrence County Sheriffs Office.
Anyone having any information related to crimes against children is encouraged to contact their local law enforcement agency or visit the NCMEC website at http://www.missingkids.com/home and find the link to make a CYBERTIPLINE report.