Cape Cod Man Faces Child Porn Charge After Search Warrant

BARNSTABLE, MA — A Cape Cod man faces a child porn charge after a digital device inside his residence was recovered during a search warrant, police said.

On Sept. 4, Barnstable police detectives, with the assistance of the United States Secret Service Cyber Fraud Task Force and the Barnstable Police K-9 Unit, executed a search warrant at a residence located in Marstons Mills.

As a result of the search warrant and on-scene investigation, 39-year-old Dane Hitchins, of Marstons Mills, was arrested and charged with child pornography possession.

This search warrant was the result of a cyber tip received by the Massachusetts State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force that was assigned to a task force officer in the Investigative Services Division, officials said.

The cyber tip alleged that a device located at Hitchins’s residence was uploading child sexual abuse material to an online server. The on-scene investigation revealed at least one digital device that had child sexual abuse material on it, including an image that was reported in the tip.

Hitchins was arrested on the scene. He was arraigned at Barnstable District Court on Sept. 5 and has a probable cause hearing scheduled for Oct. 6.

Several digital devices that were seized during the execution of the warrant are being examined as this investigation continues, officials said.