JONESBORO, Ark. — A 44-year-old Jonesboro man is facing 44 felony counts of possessing child sexual abuse material after a cybertip from a cloud storage company prompted an investigation.
Police arrested Joseph B. Perciful and placed him in the Craighead County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond. He is set to appear in circuit court on Sept. 30.
The investigation began on July 13, when Synchronoss Technologies reported suspected child sexual abuse material linked to a phone number belonging to Perciful, according to court documents. Detectives confirmed the associated IP address originated from his residence and secured a search warrant for his Synchronoss Technologies account.
In addition to the illicit material, investigators found a photo of Perciful’s home located on Sally Lane, along with images of four fully clothed women. The affidavit stated that artificial intelligence had been used to modify one of the photos to make the women appear nude.
Authorities executed a warrant at Perciful’s home on Aug. 6, where he was subsequently arrested and transported to jail. The affidavit stated that, after being read his rights, Perciful admitted to downloading and viewing child sexual abuse material.
On Friday, Aug. 11, Perciful appeared before Judge Tommy Fowler for a probable cause hearing. Along with setting his bond at $500,000, Judge Fowler ordered Perciful to abstain from all internet activity.
In addition to the 44 counts of possession or use of child sexual abuse material, classified as a Class B felony, Perciful also faces a Class A misdemeanor for the unlawful creation or distribution of deepfake visual material.
Anyone with information about child exploitation is encouraged to contact local authorities or report it to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.