Henderson police arrest 72-year-old man on child porn charges

A 72-year-old Henderson man who allegedly accumulated a huge stash of child pornography over two decades has been arrested, Henderson police said Thursday.

Clark County Detention Center records show John Joseph Conti was booked Wednesday on multiple counts of suspicion of possessing and preparing pornography depicting a minor.

An arrest report for Conti indicates a Henderson police detective assigned to an internet Crimes Against Children Task Force came across suspicious computer downloads on an online platform commonly used to share pornography, which led police to Conti’s home in Henderson.

Police said Conti acknowledged downloading explicit material in an interview with the investigator.

“John Conti said he had been downloading a variety of files, to include CP (child pornography) for about 20 years, that he saved almost everything he downloaded and that he was a hoarder,” police said. “Conti was very unapologetic about downloading CP and showed a complete lack of empathy for the victims depicted in those media files.”

Police collected multiple devices from his home. On Jan. 14 police completed a forensic analysis of the impounded electronic evidence.

“In total over 31,000 images/videos depicting (child pornography) were located across 10 of the impounded devices,” police said. “Additionally, 17 images videos depicting acts of bestiality were located.”

Henderson Justice Court records indicate a felony arraignment was held Tuesday for Conti and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for June 1.

Conti remained in custody at the detention center Thursday morning. Further details on the allegations supporting the charges were not immediately released by police.

Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.