Various images of children were found on a secret app downloaded on multiple devices owned by murder suspect Christopher Clements, a computer forensic analyst testified Wednesday.
Former Tucson police digital forensic examiner Russell Blaylock told jurors what was recovered from two iPads and a MacBook that belonged to Clements.
Clements, 40, a convicted sex offender, is on trial on charges of kidnapping and killing 13-year-old Maribel Gonzalez in 2014. Maribel went missing while going to visit a friend, authorities have said.
Clements faces a second trial in February in connection with the kidnapping and death of 6-year-old Isabel Celis, who went missing from her bedroom in 2012.
He was charged with 22 felonies in both cases, including two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping of a minor under age 15, burglary and 14 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, which is said to be related to child pornography.
In addition to the images, Blaylock said investigators found Google searches on Clements’ MacBook.
On Oct. 14, 2014 at 3:17 a.m., “body found in desert” was Googled, four months after Maribel’s body had been found in an Avra Valley desert area.
Other searches included the phrases “trace evidence on body” and “Tucson teen was murdered,” Blaylock said.
During testimony last week, Melissa Stark, Clements’ former girlfriend, told jurors she hadn’t taken the photos and didn’t know any of the children who appeared in them. She also said the Google searches were not made by her.
On two of Clements’ iPads, an app called “My Secret App” was downloaded. Blaylock said the app allows the user to save media files, web browsing history, bookmarks and notes, all protected by a security pin.
When the security pin was entered wrong, “My Secret App” would take a picture of who was trying to get in by using the front camera. Out of the six images it took, Blaylock said Clements was in five of them.
On one of the iPads, Blaylock said, there were 1,247 images found, including 22 that were screenshots that captured web addresses. The web addresses included phrases such as preteen models and tiny models, Blaylock said. Images were uploaded to the app from Oct. 19, 2013, to Nov. 9, 2015.
On the other iPad, 189 images were recovered, Blaylock said. The images found were a mixture of adults and children. Images on this iPad were uploaded to the app from Aug. 6, 2013, to Sept. 24, 2014.
In court Wednesday, various pictures were shown from a Clements’ iPad. Many included children playing outside, playing in backyards and sitting on doorsteps.
Clements’ trial is scheduled to last through Sept. 30.
