A convicted sex offender from Columbia is jailed without bond in Boone County Thursday morning, charged with possession of child pornography for more than 100 AI generated images on his phone.
The Columbia Police Department’s graphic probable cause statement quotes 63-year-old Charles Edward Hooton as admitting to police that he created the nude pictures of males under 18 through an AI app. The court documents also outline Hooton’s website history, and the results are too graphic to report on.
Court documents say Hooton, who is homeless, has a lengthy criminal history and is a convicted sex offender where the victim was 14. Hooton has previous convictions for statutory sodomy and assault.
Boone County prosecutors describe him as a flight risk in court documents, saying he does not have stable housing or employment. Hooton was also arrested by Columbia Police in May for possession of child pornography.