As sexually explicit video clips of young girls being abused by adults were played Wednesday in a Miller County courtroom near downtown Texarkana, one juror turned his gaze to the floor while another wiped her eyes.
The graphic images were allegedly found on computer equipment owned by Ronald Anthony Antoniello, a 73-year-old Fouke, Ark., man facing 30 counts of possessing, distributing or viewing material depicting the sexual exploitation of children. Circuit Judge Brent Haltom instructed the jury to return to court this morning to hear closing arguments before they began deliberations on Antoniello's guilt or innocence.
Special Prosecutor Will Jones of the Arkansas Attorney General's Office called two members of the AG's Cyber Crimes Division to testify for the state. Special Agent Mike Lett testified that he used file-sharing software July 26, 2014, to extract known images of child pornography from an internet address later identified as Antoniello's.
Lett said the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the FBI maintain databases of known child pornography for law enforcement's use, which is constantly updated and expanded. Each of the known images or files has a unique "hash value," or identifying number, which allows investigators to target those sharing the sexually exploitive images.
The first images Lett acquired from Antoniello's computer involved the sexual abuse of a toddler girl being abused by an adult female. Other images involved very young and prepubescent girls being sexually abused by men, Lett testified.
During a Sept. 3, 2014, search of Antoniello's home on Miller County 10, investigators found a large cache of child pornography, Lett said. Still photos of children allegedly downloaded and printed lay on the floor. Lett testified investigators collected photographs, DVDs and a list of pornographic websites from Antoniello's desk and other areas of his home.
Among the photos found at the time of the search on Antoniello's home that were shown to the jury was one depicting a box of nude Barbie and Ken dolls, which Lett described as "red flags." Lett said a digital camera found in Antoniello's house, apparently photographed from inside Antoniello's car, containing photos of a young girl debarking a school bus and walking down the street.
Texarkana lawyer Carolyn Whitefield asked Lett if there was anything "illegal" about the schoolgirl images found on Antoniello's camera. Whitefield also questioned Lett about whether Antoniello was aware that pornographic images on his computer were available for viewing by others using the same file-sharing software that he allegedly used to download images.
The second and final witness to testify for the state, Chris Cone, a forensic computer analyst working for the AG's Cyber Crimes Division, testified he found approximately 3,000 images and videos of child pornography on media and computer hard drives seized from Antoniello's home.
"There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that those images were of children under 17," Cone testified under questioning from Whitefield's co-counsel, Garnet Norwood of Texarkana.
Jones rested the state's case after playing clips of 30 videos connected to each of the 30 criminal charges pending against Antoniello. Because of the positioning of the screen on which the videos played, Whitefield and Norwood had to move near the jury to watch. Antoniello stood with them, watching the pornography allegedly retrieved from his home.
Norwood called one witness for the defense. Howard Hall testified he has the upmost respect for Antoniello, a friend for roughly three decades. Under questioning from Jones, Hall was asked a series of questions.
"Would you expect him to come and tell you about searching for and downloading images of young children being raped and tortured? Think he might keep that to himself?" Jones asked.
Hall replied, "Yes."
"Would it surprise you to know he had videos of children tied up and being raped by male adults? Of a child being raped by a dog?" Jones asked.
Hall testified that his opinion of Antoniello as a good, law-abiding citizen hasn't changed because of the allegations against him.
This morning the jury is expected to hear closing arguments before beginning deliberations. If the jury finds Antoniello guilty of any of the charges, a second, punishment phase of trial will begin.
If convicted, Antoniello faces a fine up to $10,000 and three to 10 years on each of the 30 counts.