A 45-year-old Scottsbluff man who was facing felony charges for allegedly using a hidden camera and his cell phone to take candid pictures and video of an adult woman and young girls has struck a plea deal to avoid going to trial.
Darrell Dean was arrested last August and charged with two counts each of possession of child pornography and unlawful distribution of an intimate image, and one count of knowing and intentional child abuse without injury.
Scotts Bluff County Sheriffs Investigators say in court documents the case came to light after an adult female told them she discovered a intimate video on Dean’s phone taken without her permission in March 2019
The woman told investigators about a month later she found on the phone inappropriate pictures of a young girl under 10 years old and a video of a partially-clad teen girl in Deans bathroom that appeared to come from a camera on the garage. The woman said a month after that, she found three similar videos in Deans iCloud account that appeared to have come from a black plug-in box containing a hidden camera she found in the bathroom.
Investigators say Dean later denied possession of any child pornography, but they ultimately found evidence corroborating the adult victims claims during warrant searches of his iCloud account and electronics seized at his home. Officers say the pictures and videos of young female victims were mostly at high school sporting events, or while young girls were out boating or water skiing.
This week, Dean pleaded no contest to a Class 2A Felony charge of Possession of Child Pornography and a Class 4 Felony charge of Intrude on a Person without Consent. The remaining three charges were dismissed in exchange for his plea.
He could be sentenced up to 20 years in prison when he’s back in court on July 30th.
