By DAVE SCHULTZ
and HOLLY GASKILL
A Bluffton man was arrested Friday on charges related to child pornography.
Sabastian Jeffrey Hubble, 30, was taken into custody by officers of the Bluffton Police Department at the Ossian Packing Co. His arrest followed a 13-month investigation.
Hubble has been charged with child exploitation, a Level 4 felony; possession of child pornography, a Level 5 felony; voyeurism with a camera entering a dwelling, a Level 6 felony; and public voyeurism, a Class A misdemeanor. His bond was set at $81,500.
The charges stem from a report to Bluffton police in March of 2022 that Hubble had child pornography on his computer. The report was made by a woman identified as his wife at the time, who said she was concerned for the four children, all under the age of 9, in the house. She told officers that there were several files “containing child pornography” and evidence of searches for children who were 12 and 13 years old.
Based on the woman’s information, three Bluffton officers — a sergeant and two patrol officers — obtained a search warrant and went to Hubble’s residence at 2 p.m. that afternoon. A police report said Hubble was alone in the house and was placed in double handcuffs and put in a police car while the officers executed the search warrant.
A Fort Wayne-area specialist spoke to the children in the house a few days after Hubble was arrested and found no evidence they were aware of any child pornography.
However, when forensic technicians unlocked Hubble’s phone, they said they found a video of Hubble allegedly setting his phone in a room. Videos showed one child changing clothes and another child urinating.
The charging information said there were several other photos of children, some identified as residents of the house. Other images were believed to be computer-generated images or animated images of various children.
Court records show that an order was issued by Wells Circuit Court Judge Kenton W. Kiracofe on Wednesday for Hubble’s arrest and a request for a no-contact order has also been filed.
Hubble was reported to be in the Wells County Jail early Friday night.
daves@news-banner.com
holly@news-banner.com
