MUSKEGON, Mich. – A Muskegon County man has been charged with possession of child pornography after an international child porn investigation led authorities to his IP address.
Michael Emil Genaux, 44, of Egelston Township was caught in the investigation by the Department of Homeland Security, the Municipal Police of Zurich and Switzerland’s Federal Office of Police. Genaux’s IP address was found on a computer server in Zurich, Switzerland during an investigation call Operation Amateur Lover.
Genaux was arraigned Tuesday on three counts of possession of child sexually abusive material. He faces up to four years in state prison. Genaux is free on a $100,000 surety bond he posted Aug. 6 after a warrant for his arrest was issued.
As part of the investigation, Swiss police on Oct. 9, 2014, seized a computer server in a Zurich home. Fedpol analysts identified more than 800 IP addresses in the United States whose users allegedly had downloaded sexually explicit images of children. One of those allegedly led to the home where Genaux lives.
The Muskegon County Sheriff’s office obtained a search warrant for Genaux’s home in May and seized computer equipment. Investigators allegedly found 122 images identified as child porn.
