Norwalk Man Charged With Child Porn Possession: Police

NORWALK, CT — A Norwalk man accused of possessing child pornography was arrested at his home Monday, according to police.

Police said Thomas Finn, 55, of Norwalk, was charged with first-degree possession of child pornography and promoting a minor in an obscene performance. He was held on a $250,000 bond.

In a news release, Police Lt. Terrence Blake said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security contacted the department's Special Victims Unit in January 2020 after intercepting suspected child pornography on the messaging application "Kik."

According to Blake, homeland security agents told Norwalk police Detective Kristina LaPak the suspected pornography was uploaded from an IP address in Norwalk. Through a series of court orders, LaPak determined it was uploaded from Finn's home.

Police executed a search warrant at Finn's home in September 2020 and seized several internet-capable devices, including an iPhone. Police Sgt. Nate Paulino, the Special Victims Unit's investigative supervisor, then conducted forensic examinations on the devices and discovered "numerous media files containing child pornography on the iPhone," Blake said.

According to Blake, Paulino also found several conversations within the Kik messaging application where "the performance of sex acts with minor children were being discussed."

"Sergeant Paulino was able to develop probable cause that Finn was the sole user of the iPhone at the time the child pornography was uploaded and throughout the conversations referencing sex and children," Blake said in a news release.

Finn was arrested on a warrant Monday at his home in Norwalk.

Mark Sherman, a Stamford-based criminal defense attorney representing Finn, declined to comment on case specifics but insisted in a statement emailed to Patch his client will "aggressively fight these charges."

"This is a father and husband with no criminal history whatsoever," Sherman said, "and from what I know about the investigation so far, the forensics that led to this arrest beg more questions than answers."