Man arrested after police find child pornography on Google Drive

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) — A man has been arrested and charged after Memphis police said they found child pornography on his Google Drive.

Police say that on July 16, 2022, the Memphis Police Department received a series of complaints from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding child pornography.

Police say these complaints came from Google after the company discovered a large number of files on its Google Drive and Google Photos platforms which it considered “blatant child pornography”. A total of 600 photos and videos were reported and sent to law enforcement agencies.

Police say 16 images showed children engaging in various sexual acts and were uploaded by a Google user going by the name of Brian Howland.

Subpoenaed records revealed that the IP addresses used to access the Google account were linked to the Memphis address of Brian Thomas Howland, 56.

Investigators executed a search warrant on the Google account, which revealed additional images of child sexual exploitation. The total number of finds was not disclosed.

An arrest warrant was issued for Howland on Tuesday. He was charged the same day with sexually exploiting a minor.

Howland is being held on $5,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court Thursday.

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