Owen Halls (Neenah Police Department)
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Former Neenah police office Owen Halls pleaded not guilty Thursday to possession of child pornography. A Nov. 20 trial date was set.
Halls, 22, was charged after investigators received a tip that two files of child sexual abuse materials had been uploaded to the messaging app Kik.
In court Thursday, defense attorney Scott Ceman said in his preliminary review of the evidence that those on the images may have been adults made to look like children. Additionally, there was no intent to access child porn, Ceman said.
According to the criminal complaint, Halls told investigators that he visited a website that had pornography, including some involving children. He claimed that when he saw videos or images involving children, he would close the file, though he admitted he did not report the inappropriate materials.
When pressed, he admitted sending messages to other users requesting child pornography.
If convicted on both counts, Halls faces up to 50 years in prison.
Neenah police fired Halls after charges were filed. He had been hired in March 2024 and was still in a probationary period.
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