A Petersburg man is facing 10 felony charges for possession and distribution of child pornography after a grand jury indicted him on Dec. 26 for allegedly sharing sexually explicit content of children.
Charging documents say law enforcement received a tip from Kik, a social networking app, reporting that an account belonging to Alejandro “Alex” Melendez Aguilar, 45, had shared the content.
Investigators spoke with Aguilar at his Petersburg residence in November. They allege that, during the interview, Aguilar admitted sharing explicit content on the app but denied intentionally seeking and sharing child sexual abuse material.
Investigators say Aguilar confirmed identification information and searches of his electronic devices corroborated with the reported content sharing. Alaska State Troopers arrested Aguilar in Petersburg on Dec. 19.
Aguilar is in custody at Lemon Creek Correctional Center in Juneau, under a bail amount of at least $27,500 cash. He is expected to enter a plea at a superior court hearing scheduled for Jan. 6.
The Juneau public defenders office did not respond to KFSK’s request for comment, and KFSK was not able to contact Aguilar through the correctional center.
