North Alabama Catholic church official arrested on child porn charges

By Crystal Bonvillian
AL.com
July 12, 2016

http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2016/07/child_pornography_arrest.html

John Lindbergh Ellar Martin

Madison County investigators have arrested an official from a Madison church who stands accused of possession and dissemination of child pornography. 

John Lindbergh Ellar Martin, 57, is charged with possession of child pornography. He is being held in the Madison County Jail in lieu of $30,000. 

Madison County Sheriff's Office Captain Michael Salomonsky announced the arrest Tuesday afternoon at a news conference, where he detailed the weeks-long investigation into Martin's alleged crimes.

Salomonsky said a search warrant was executed around 6:45 a.m. at Martin's home on Barcody Road SE in Huntsville, where investigators took as evidence several electronic devices, including cell phones. 

A search warrant was also executed at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Madison, where Martin worked as assistant director of the parish's religious education program. A desktop computer, as well as a laptop, was seized from his office there. 

Photos and videos of sexual abuse of children were found on both computers from the church, as well as the devices taken from Martin's home. 

Salomonsky said church officials were "extremely helpful" during the search and the investigation of the case. 

Though Martin is an ordained minister, he did not serve in that capacity at the church. Salomonsky said Martin was terminated Tuesday following his arrest. 

"It's been extremely hard to track this individual," Salomonsky said, pointing out that the Sheriff's Office's Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) investigator had to track IP addresses and use other technological data to trace the pornography back to Martin. 

The investigator initially found the pornography by surfing websites dedicated to sexually abusive materials involving children. Salomonsky said monitoring such websites is a large part of her daily duties. 

"We didn't get any tips, we didn't get any help from anybody. It was the Madison County Sheriff's Office's ICAC investigator's proactive approach to protecting children" that broke the case, he said. 

There were multiple victims involved, he said, though it is not yet known if any of the children are from the Madison County area. Salomonsky called child pornography a global crime.

"The investigation will take months to track down the victims," the captain said.

Martin did not appear to be in any of the pornographic videos found by deputies. 

The U.S. Secret Service has agreed to assist Madison County investigators in analyzing the photos and videos seized so the children who were being abused can be identified and given help, Salomonsky said.  

He urged parents whose children have had contact of any kind with Martin to talk to their children. If sexual abuse is suspected, parents can call the Sheriff's Office at 256-533-8820 to talk to an investigator.