JayGee
2024-03-30 19:31:47 UTC
ST. LOUIS
A St. Louis firefighter who was charged Thursday with possessing child sex
abuse material died by suicide later that day, police said.
The St. Charles Police Department said Jarret Morton, 50, jumped off the
sixth level of the Ameristar Casino parking garage. Police responded at
8:31 p.m. and pronounced Morton dead at the scene.
Morton had been charged earlier that day with two counts of possessing
child sex abuse material. A judge issued an at-large warrant Thursday for
Morton's arrest, ordering that he be held without bond.
He was employed as a firefighter with the St. Louis Fire Department at the
time of the crimes, police said.
According to a probable cause statement, investigators received a tip on
Jan. 30 referring to two files constituting child sexual abuse material.
The files were stored on Dropbox, and they were accessed twice on Jan. 11.
The screen name used with the Dropbox was Jarret Morton, and his email
address contained "stlfd," the acronym for St. Louis Fire Department.
Police identified Morton as the owner of the Dropbox account, and the IP
address used to access the files was traced to Engine House No. 5 in the
St. Louis Place neighborhood. Police said the files were accessed during
times Morton was working at the firehouse and that he had access to the
station's secured WiFi.
Police executed a search warrant on Morton's phone and found 221 video
files of child sex abuse, court documents said.
St. Charles detectives have completed their initial investigation into
Morton's death, but they asked anyone who may have more information on
what happened to call the police department at 636-949-3309.
https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/crime/st-louis-firefighter-accused-
possessing-child-sex-abuse-material/63-a1a67008-c9b2-4efc-b4ab-
eb2aedf71977?ref=exit-recirc
A St. Louis firefighter who was charged Thursday with possessing child sex
abuse material died by suicide later that day, police said.
The St. Charles Police Department said Jarret Morton, 50, jumped off the
sixth level of the Ameristar Casino parking garage. Police responded at
8:31 p.m. and pronounced Morton dead at the scene.
Morton had been charged earlier that day with two counts of possessing
child sex abuse material. A judge issued an at-large warrant Thursday for
Morton's arrest, ordering that he be held without bond.
He was employed as a firefighter with the St. Louis Fire Department at the
time of the crimes, police said.
According to a probable cause statement, investigators received a tip on
Jan. 30 referring to two files constituting child sexual abuse material.
The files were stored on Dropbox, and they were accessed twice on Jan. 11.
The screen name used with the Dropbox was Jarret Morton, and his email
address contained "stlfd," the acronym for St. Louis Fire Department.
Police identified Morton as the owner of the Dropbox account, and the IP
address used to access the files was traced to Engine House No. 5 in the
St. Louis Place neighborhood. Police said the files were accessed during
times Morton was working at the firehouse and that he had access to the
station's secured WiFi.
Police executed a search warrant on Morton's phone and found 221 video
files of child sex abuse, court documents said.
St. Charles detectives have completed their initial investigation into
Morton's death, but they asked anyone who may have more information on
what happened to call the police department at 636-949-3309.
https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/crime/st-louis-firefighter-accused-
possessing-child-sex-abuse-material/63-a1a67008-c9b2-4efc-b4ab-
eb2aedf71977?ref=exit-recirc