Monticello man faces charges after KIK app flags BCA of possible child porn

BUFFALO, Minn. -- A Monticello man faces a felony charge after the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension reports they received a tip from the KIK messaging app.

Charges have been filed in Wright County against 19-year-old Joseph Kunkel. The complaint reports that KIK flagged to the Minnesota BCA that a user had sent four videos of possible child pornography.

Investigators executed a search based on IP information, and said that they seized the cell phones of everyone who lived at the address attached to that IP.

They say they asked Kunkel if he was viewing child pornography, and he replied, "I guess." He said that he had shared the videos with others, and that there were probably more, approximately 15.

Investigators conducted a forensic search of Kunkel's phone and say they extracted more images of possible child pornography, and more than 280 images of "potential child exploitation material," which were then reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Kunkel has been charged with possession of a pornographic work, "knowing or with reason to know its content and character."