LAS VEGAS — A defense attorney
denied Friday that a 37-year-old Las Vegas police officer knew about allegedly
pornographic images that prompted Google to alert the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children.
James William Henry stood
flanked by two jail guards in a Las Vegas courtroom before his attorney, Louis
Schneider, arrived for his initial appearance on 20 child pornography
possession and distribution charges that could put him prison for decades.
Schneider said outside court he
thinks it's possible that someone else uploaded the images that Google flagged.
He said they will fight the charges.
"There's nothing on his
home computers, nothing on his smartphone," Schneider said. "I don't
know what happened yet. These pictures could possibly have been placed there by
someone else."
Schneider characterized his
client as stunned by the charges against him.
The attorney said he wants to
review police arrest reports and will ask Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Ann
Zimmerman on Monday to set bail so Henry can be freed pending resolution of the
case.
Henry was suspended without pay
following his arrest Thursday, and is being held without bail at the Clark
County jail.
Henry is a 12-year police
veteran and was assigned to patrol the Las Vegas Convention Center and Strip
area before his arrest.
Court records show he was
ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim.
Deputy Las Vegas Police Chief
Al Salinas told reporters Thursday the tip from Google was investigated by a
regional multi-agency Internet crimes against children task force before a
warrant was issued for Henry's arrest.
