Applications engineer allowed to work with internet-disabled devices
By Vicky Wedig
SLN Staff
An applications engineer charged with having child pornography will be allowed to work on computers as long as his employer disables internet access on the devices.
Kyle J. Zink, 48, of East Troy, was charged March 2 in Walworth County Circuit Court with 13 counts of possession of child pornography. Each felony count carries maximum penalties of 25 years in prison and $100,000 in fines.
Zink appeared in court March 2 free on bond with his attorney, Anthony Cotton, of Waukesha. Zink was released Feb. 27 on a $10,000 signature bond with a $1,000 cash component and ordered not to possess any internet-capable devices.
Cotton requested that Zink, an applications engineer who works on computers typically equipped with internet capabilities, be allowed to continue working for his employer who agreed to disable internet access on the computers. Judge Kristine Drettwan approved the bond clarification.
Cotton also reported a change in address for Zink from the Clayton Avenue home where child pornography was allegedly found Feb. 26 to a Carver School Road address.
According to the criminal complaint, Zink’s stepson, Daniel Post, examined Zink’s computer after Post’s mother, Lou Ann Zink, reported seeing a picture of a naked girl on the computer. Post initially feared the computer might have caught a virus that transmitted the images, but, upon examination of Zink’s computer found recently opened files with “suspicious and sexual titles,” according to the complaint.
Police saw images on two computer drives of girls who appeared to be younger than 18 years old dressed in sexual outfits, in sexual poses and performing sexual acts including one image of a man having sexual intercourse with a girl who appeared to be 9 to 11 years old, according to the complaint. Police seized six USB drives and a desktop computer from the home Feb. 26.
Zink allegedly admitted downloading the images and said he became interested in child pornography in 2002, according to the complaint.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 17 in Zink’s case.
