Man remanded on child porn charges

An 18-year-old man appeared in court today following a police investigation into child sex abuse which led to the arrest of a mother-of-four in America.

Nicholas Wilde, of Holmbridge Grove, Walsall, was arrested by West Midlands Police last Thursday and charged with making, possessing and distributing indecent images of children.

He appeared by videolink before magistrates in Walsall charged with six counts of making indecent images of children, two counts of possessing such images, and one count of distribution.

He faces a further two counts of possession of extreme pornographic images.

Following Wilde's arrest, detectives from West Midlands Police contacted the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (Ceop) Centre and the US Embassy.

A 30-year-old mother from the Mars Hill area was arrested on Friday.

She appeared at Aroostook County Superior Court in Caribou, in the north of the New England state on Monday, charged with gross sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a minor after allegedly using a webcam to broadcast live images of child sex abuse on the internet.

The woman remains in Aroostook County Jail and has been held at bail of 100,000 dollars (£60,000) in real estate or 50,000 dollars (£30,000) in cash.

She is due for a status conference to determine if she is indicted on September 18.

Wilde was remanded in custody to appear at Walsall Magistrates on July 17.