EVANSTON — Evanston resident Raymond Sellers was arrested on Friday, April 21, on four counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

An affidavit by Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Joel Greene states that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cybertip from cloud and messaging company Synchronoss Technologies on Jan. 17, indicating that a suspect had uploaded a file containing suspected child pornography.

According to the affidavit, the service provider’s categorization was automated, operating based on NCMEC’s review of previously uploaded files. The suspected file was deemed to be visually similar to files previously flagged by NCMEC.

NCMEC reviewed the phone number linked to the cybertip, concluding the event likely occurred in or around Evanston. NCMEC forwarded the tip to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation’s Internet Crimes Against Children division on Feb. 2. Greene was assigned to work on the tip that day.

The file Greene said he received was a graphic 14-second video involving sexual contact between a prepubescent girl and an adult male. Greene learned the phone number attached to the cybertip belonged to Verizon Wireless, so he requested Homeland Security Investigations personnel to issue a federal summons for subscriber information.

Verizon complied, releasing account information, which included Sellers’ name and address, according to the affidavit. On Feb. 13, Greene received a search warrant from Sweetwater County Circuit Judge John Prokos, authorizing him to access Sellers’ Synchronoss Technologies account. On Feb. 16, Greene received the relevant information, which allegedly included three additional videos, all of which were classified as child pornography.

On April 21, Greene interviewed Sellers. Sellers allegedly said the phone number in the tip was his, and he confirmed that his account was covered by the Verizon Wireless Cloud. Greene informed Sellers that the Verizon Wireless Cloud was managed by Synchronoss Technologies, according to court documents.

Sellers then allegedly confessed that he had an addiction to pornography, informing Greene that he viewed adult pornography on a daily basis, purchasing links containing pornographic content from individuals on chat platforms KIK and WhatsApp. Sellers allegedly said he found child pornography on a link he purchased in December of 2022. After viewing the video, Sellers said he reported the account which sent it.

The affidavit states that Sellers was “in a dark place.” He became “curious,” and began to seek out child pornography. Eventually, Sellers found the account which sold him the video, he allegedly told investigators, and asked for the link. He subsequently saved the link to his computer. He admitted to purchasing three child pornography links, spending an estimated $150, according to court documents.

Sellers’ case is in the transition process between the Circuit Court and Third District Court, and an arraignment date has not yet been set. If Sellers is convicted, he will face upwards of 40 years in prison and $40,000 in fines.