Robert Leo Watson, 54, took his laptop to a Des Moines Best Buy in August 2018 and bought a new computer for his files to be transferred to, media outlets reported, citing a police report. Watson had spilled gravy on the computer, rendering it inoperable.
As employees were transferring files from the "gravy-covered computer," they saw what they believed to be child porn, The Des Moines Register reported.
Des Moines police investigated both computers. Watson was able to describe several images detectives found, some depicting children as young as 4 and 5 years old, WHO-TV reported. He told police he had downloaded the images "because he wanted to tell other people about them," according to the police report.
Watson was arrested Tuesday and charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography. He is being held in the Polk County Jail on a bond of $50,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 10.
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