A Petersburg man has pleaded not guilty for allegedly sharing child sexual abuse material.
Alejandro “Alex” Melendez Aguilar, 45, was indicted last month on 10 felony charges for possession and distribution of child pornography. He was arraigned remotely from jail in Juneau through the Petersburg Courthouse on Jan. 6.
Last year, law enforcement officers said they received a tip from Kik, a social networking app, reporting Aguilar’s account shared explicit sexual content of children. Alaska State Troopers investigated. When interviewing Aguilar in November, they said he admitted sharing adult content on the app but denied intentionally seeking and sharing child sexual abuse material.
Troopers arrested Aguilar in December. He was indicted by a grand jury the day after Christmas.
Aguilar remains in custody at Lemon Creek Correctional Facility in Juneau, under a bail amount of at least $27,500 cash. A bail reduction request was denied at a pretrial hearing on Jan. 8.
A trial date has not been scheduled.
