Green

ELKINS — Probable cause was found Monday in the case of a Randolph County man accused of allegedly distributing and exhibiting child pornography, and allegedly possessing more than 1,500 photos and videos of child pornography.

David Eugene Green, 29, appeared in Randolph County Magistrate Court Monday afternoon for a preliminary hearing. Magistrate Michael Dyer found probable cause in the case, forwarding it to be considered by the Randolph County Grand Jury.

Green is charged with two counts of distributing and exhibiting material depicting minors engaged in sexual activity, a felony. He is currently being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $20,000 cash-only bond.

At the hearing’s start, Green’s attorney, James Hawkins Jr., asked Dyer to reduce and modify Green’s bond, calling it “excessive” and “oppressive.” Hawkins argued that Green was not a flight risk due to him having remained in the area during the length of the investigation, which, Hawkins said, began in August 2024.

Assistant Prosecutor Leckta Poling argued against the bond reduction and modification request, citing the nature of the investigation and severity of the allegations against Green. After finding probable cause against Green, Dyer denied the bond reduction and modification request.

Trooper E.B. Malcomb, with the Crimes Against Children Unit of the West Virginia State Police, was called to testify by Poling. Malcomb explained that she was brought on to the investigation against Green when the State Police received a search warrant for Green’s cellular device after he had allegedly “shown a minor explicit material.”

“Through that search warrant of (Green’s) phone, there were a lot of images and videos recovered depicting child sexual abuse material,” Malcomb told the court.

When Poling asked how many images and videos were allegedly found on Green’s cellular device, Malcomb said a total of 1,615 pieces of media were flagged by the State Police Forensics Lab in Morgantown as depicting child sexual abuse material, with 1,115 being photos and 500 being videos. Malcomb said she reviewed the photos and videos from a hard drive sent by the Forensics Lab, and had not actually seen the cellular device herself.

Malcomb said she did not know of any other suspects who had access to Green’s cellular device.

In cross-examination, Hawkins questioned if Malcomb had viewed every single piece of media allegedly on Green’s cellular device that was flagged by the Forensics Lab. Malcomb said no and explained that she had viewed approximately 20 of the photos and videos.

Hawkins then asked if any of the 20 pieces of media Malcomb had seen were supposedly the one Green allegedly showed to a minor in August 2024. Malcomb said no.

Hawkins questioned whether the State Police knew which photo had allegedly been shown to a minor, if they knew whether Green had viewed the media himself or if they even knew who had actually downloaded the media in the first place. Malcomb replied that the media was found on Green’s cellular device, but she did not personally know how the media was downloaded or who did it.

Hawkins also asked if the media had to be extracted from the cellular device or if it was easy to find, to which Malcomb said she believed that the images were easily found on the cellular device by another member of the West Virginia State Police when the warrant was issued.

Poling followed up Hawkins questioning, asking if Malcomb was aware of any CAC interview with a minor involving this case, and if such an interview was part of Malcomb’s investigation against Green. Malcomb responded yes to both.

In her closing statement, Poling asked the court to find probable cause against Green based on the testimony given by Malcomb.

Hawkins, in his closing statement, argued that the prosecution failed to prove that Green had in fact shown explicit material to a minor, reminding the court that the charge was distributing and exhibiting material depicting minors, not possession of child pornography.