Ypsilanti Township man charged in child pornography case; police trying to identify children in photos

An Ypsilanti Township man is facing criminal charges after Washtenaw County sheriff's deputies say they found thousands of images of child pornography on his BlackBerry and its memory cards.

Many of the photographs depict girls as young as 5 and 6 in various sexual positions, Sheriff's Det. Kevin Parviz said.

Brian E. Demarest, 41, who lives on Munger Road, was arraigned today on four counts of using a computer to commit a felony and two counts each of distribution of child pornography and possession of child pornography.

Brian E. Demarest

Demarest, who has children and works as a handyman in a mobile home community, was arraigned at the Washtenaw County Jail. He's being held on $500,000 cash bond.

Some of the photos appear to be homemade - including close-ups of at least one adult having sex with children - and may have been taken by Demarest, Parviz said. Detectives are working to identify children in the photographs and are using the BlackBerry and other methods to retrace Demarest's activity.

Demarest was arrested and the Blackberry - a smartphone that includes Internet access - was seized after a search warrant was executed at his home Thursday. He is not cooperating with the investigation, Parviz said.

"We need to talk to every single person this guy has come across lately," Parviz said.

The investigation began after someone who saw at least one of the images tipped off deputies, Parviz said.

Parviz is encouraging parents in the area to talk to their children about the situation.

"Parents have to take the initiative," he said.

In all, investigators recovered more than 3,400 images of pornography, the majority child pornography, Parviz said. Deputies also found hundreds of pornographic videos, Parviz said.

Investigators continue to follow up on leads in the case, and it's possible more charges will be filed, Parviz said.

Deputies don't believe Demarest has a criminal record.

It's unclear whether Demarest has an attorney, and attempts to get in contact with his family members this evening were unsuccessful.

Sonny Gonzales, who lives in the neighborhood, said Demarest has twice worked on his mobile home.

Gonzales has already talked to his 17-year-old daughter about the situation and said he was relieved to hear she was not harmed. He said he was surprised at the allegations.

"How can you tell?" he asked. "You can't look at somebody and say, 'Oh yeh, this guy's doing this.' It's very disgusting."

Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Tom Boivin at 734-973-4625 or Parviz at 734-484-6740.

Lee Higgins covers crime and courts for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at leehiggins@annarbor.com or 734-623-2527.