Greencastle man charged with four child pornography counts

Brian Coulson

A Greencastle man has been charged with four felonies following an Indiana State Police investigation into possible possession of child pornography.

On Monday, the Putnam County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against 48-year-old Brian D. Coulson, three Level 5 felony counts of possession of child pornography depicting a child under 12 years of age and an additional Level 6 felony count of possession of child pornography.

The investigation began when Trooper Detective Robert Whyte received a cyber tip from the national Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Whyte’s investigation found seven cyber tips from Google associated with Coulson’s account.

Through his investigation, Whyte said he initially found at least 26 images or videos uploaded to Google from the account depicting young females in sexual or suggestive situations.

Whyte reported that upon further investigation, he was able to find 395 pieces of evidence.

According to court records, Whyte had been unable to locate Coulson to interview him, having visited both his place of employment and a hotel where he had reportedly been staying.

With charges filed on Monday, a warrant was issued for Coulson’s arrest. Putnam County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Deal took Coulson into custody Monday night, booking him in the Putnam County Jail at 10:16 p.m.

An initial hearing before Superior Court Judge Denny Bridges is set for 2 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 7.

Level 5 felonies carry a sentencing range of 1-6 years while Level 6 felonies range from 6 months to 2.5 years.