NORFOLK, Va. - A Newport News man appeared in U.S. District Court in Norfolk Thursday on child porn charges.
Police conducted an undercover investigation to monitor trafficking of child pornography from Nov. 1, 2015 - Dec. 27, 2015.
Larry Drommerhausen coming out of court on May 5, 2016.
During their investigation, police found several videos linked to one IP address. In a subpoena obtained on Feb. 5, police determined that the IP address was that of a computer owned by Newport News resident Larry Drommerhausen.
Drommerhausen's Newport News home.
On April 4, police executed a federal search warrant at Drommerhausen's home.
While searching the house, agents located images and video of child pornography that appeared to be homemade.
They also found a shaving cream can that had a magnetized bottom that allowed the base to detach. A pinhole had been poked into the can.
While police were searching the home, Drommerhausen was read Miranda rights and agreed to speak with investigators.
According to court documents, Drommerhausen told police that he owns a business that installs regular and hidden cameras.
Drommerhausen's security camera business is called Independent Systems.
The Newport News Commissioner of Revenue's Office confirmed that Drommerhausen's business is called Independent Systems and has operated in Newport News since 2001.
The court documents also state that he admitted to police he had been looking at child porn for a "couple of years" and it gave him an adrenaline rush and appealed to him because it was forbidden.
He also said that he and his wife adopted his grandson who lives with them and that he has one granddaughter and three step grandchildren that do not live with them.
Drommerhausen told police he was also a foster parent for numerous children over the years who had been physically or sexually abused.
Larry Drommerhausen
Drommerhausen said he only used the computer in his shed to view child porn and said his wife and children don't go in there. He also told police that his grandchildren do occasionally use the computer with his supervision.
The FBI’s Norfolk Field Office is asking for the public’s help to identify potential victims. If you have information that could assist in the investigation, call the FBI at 757-609-2398.
If convicted, Drommerhausen faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.
