HPD officer accused of possessing child pornography gets $100K bond
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston police officer accused of possessing child pornography appeared in court before a judge overnight.
Officer Justin Weber, 29, didn't say much when he appeared in court around 1 a.m. Wednesday. He said yes -- he wanted a court-appointed lawyer -- before a judge gave him a $100,000 bond.
He was given a $20,000 bond for five counts of child pornography, bringing the bond total to $100,000.
Weber's house in Spring was raided a week ago, on March 9, with a search warrant. However, the Houston Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children's Unit said it started investigating allegations of possession of child pornography two months ago, on Jan. 17.
Weber was arrested on Tuesday. HPD said he has since been relieved of duty.
ORIGINAL REPORT: HPD officer charged with possession of child pornography, police say
He was sworn in as an officer in December 2016 and was assigned to the air support division.
According to court paperwork, the investigation began after Yahoo and Snapchat flagged pornography images of girls between 8 and 13 years old, uploaded and shared by Weber.
Charging documents state that Weber was traced to the accounts through an IP address. Both Yahoo and Snapchat were served warrants, giving the explicit pictures to the police.
Investigators say he admitted to being the only person to have access to those accounts.
"When presented with the images charged in these warrants, the defendant initially denied ever seeing the images, but then later confessed he did recognize the child pornography," an official said in court.
"Actually, we were kind of excited to have HPD officers on the block. Feel a little more secure," Weber's neighbor, Stefan Ehrhardt, said. "What happened today, there's a school across the street, it doesn't leave a good feeling with you."
The judge said as part of Weber's bond, he cannot have any contact with or come within 1,000 feet of any daycares or schools, no contact with kids under 17 and no access to the internet.
