Misplacing his phone could end up costing a man most of his life in prison after a video showing him molesting a 4-year-old girl was allegedly found on his cellphone.
The suspect, Billy Brinkley, 34, has been charged in Rutherford County for molesting a little girl after a video on his cellphone led lawmen to a location in Murfreesboro where it is believed the illegal recording was made. He is charged with two counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and two counts of aggravated sexual battery in the Rutherford County part of the case.
He is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor in Warren County. His bond in Rutherford County has been set at $150,000.
The case against Brinkley began after he misplaced his phone while on the job at Yorozu. The phone was found and, in an effort to determine who the phone belonged to, employees at the factory began looking for some sort of identification. It was at that point they stumbled across images and videos of underage persons engaged in sexual activity.
The phone was turned over the authorities. Brinkley reportedly admitted to downloading the illegal images, claiming he got them from the internet. Investigators say they have already found over 50 images on the phone, making his crime in Warren County a Class C Felony punishable by three to six years in prison.
However, while cataloging the images, sheriff’s investigator Jason Rowland found a video that looked to be homemade. The video led him to Murfreesboro where he consulted with lawmen there and the little girl in the video was located.
“His phone showed what appeared to be a self-produced video of Mr. Brinkley molesting a little girl,” said Murfreesboro police detective Tommy Roberts.
The charge of aggravated sexual battery which arose from the homemade video carries eight to 12 years in prison. It has not been revealed where Brinkley will be tried first.