A Chantilly man who lives near three local schools was arrested last week on a child-pornography charge by the Northern Virginia-Washington, D.C., Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. He is Steve F. Garrison, 53, of the 4300 block of Poplar Branch Drive in Chantilly.
Acting on information provided by Maryland Police Sergeant David Biser, the Task Force executed a search warrant last Thursday evening, Oct. 6, at Garrison's home. His residence is in the vicinity of Greenbriar West Elementary, Rocky Run Middle and Chantilly High School, where he lives with his wife and three children.
ACCORDING TO the Virginia State Police, as a result of the consent search, "investigators seized almost two dozen disks containing child pornography, and a computer." Garrison was then arrested at his home, without incident, and charged with one felony count of possession of child pornography.
In an Oct. 6 affidavit for search warrant to look for possible evidence in Garrison’s home, Virginia State Police presented details of the case against him. According to the affidavit, a 19-year-old woman who met Garrison on Internet “chat rooms,” said she had a sexual relationship with him. She filed a child pornography complaint against Garrison in Maryland, according to the affidavit filed in Fairfax County Circuit Court.
The woman reported that “Garrison has been bringing videos of a pornographic nature with him [to the hotel where they met],” according to the court documents. “[The woman] also stated that Garrison would bring a portable DVD player in order to watch the movies in the hotel rooms they would stay in.”
Children in the videos were as young as 6 or 7 months old, according to the court documents. “She was upset that Garrison was looking at such young children in pornographic settings,” the document stated.
THE INVESTIGATION is still ongoing. Garrison was released from jail on bond, last Friday, Oct. 7, pending his court date. If convicted, he could be sentenced to as much as five years in prison.
Garrison, returned to Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on Tuesday, Oct. 11 after it was discovered that he was a wanted fugitive in Maryland. He is currently being held on a $5,000 bond with a preliminary hearing set for Nov. 16.
The State Police explained that the Task Force was created "to counter society's rapid explosion of online child exploitation, pornography and predators."
The 20 local, state and federal agencies that partnered in this Task Force consist of several local police departments, including Fairfax County, Herndon, Vienna, Alexandria, Arlington, Leesburg, Manassas City, Manassas Park, Fairfax City, Falls Church, Prince William and Stafford counties, Washington, D.C. Metropolitan, GMU and NOVA police, and the Virginia State Police.
The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, FBI, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the U.S. Postal Service are also members of the Task Force.