Posted: Oct. 12, 2009

A Brookfield man who left his cell phone at a bar as collateral for an outstanding tab was charged last week with seven counts of possession of child pornography after a bartender allegedly found explicit pictures on the phone.

According to a criminal complaint filed Friday in Waukesha County Circuit Court:

Aaron R. Klein, 24, was at the Saloon on Calhoun, 17000 W. Capitol Drive, until 2 a.m. Oct. 6 and rang up a bar tab of $57.75. Klein said he couldn't pay, but left his phone as collateral and said he would come back the next day to pay the bill in full and collect his phone.

After Klein left, a bartender was searching for Klein's name or number on the phone when he found seven pornographic images of children that had been downloaded to the device.

Later that day, Brookfield police officers came to the bar and waited for Klein to return. About 3:45 p.m., Klein showed up to pay his bill and he was taken into custody. Police found two OxyContin pills and a straw in his possession, and he was arrested for possession of narcotic drugs as well as possession of child pornography.

Officers then went to Klein's home to examine the family's home computer. There were two hard drives on the computer, including one that had numerous pornographic images on it, and Klein admitted to downloading the images.

Police said there were about 300 to 400 images of child pornography on the computer.

Possession of child pornography is a Class D felony, and each charge carries a maximum 25-year prison sentence, a fine of up to $100,000 or both.

A preliminary hearing is to be held Friday in Waukesha County Circuit Court.