Former Walker Aide Used the Username "Walker04" to Obtain Child Porn

According to a criminal complaint filed yesterday, a former aide of Governor Walker, Timothy Russell, used the username "Walker04" to obtain child pornography.

The complaint states that investigators found "sexually explicit images of young appearing males who appear to be between the ages of 12 and 19, extracted from computers seized from the defendant's former residence."

Further, they were able to trace this child pornography back to Russell and his longtime partner, Brian Pierick:

"This is further confirmed by the fact that Special Agent Petersen was able to forensically identify specific "usernames" as associated with specific images, in some instances.  These include usernames such as "Walker04" and "TRussell," on information and belief were created by Timothy Russell and/or Brian Pierick for use on their computers and other devices."

Russell and Pierick are both longtime Republican operatives and Russell worked on then-County Executive Scott Walker's staff as his Deputy Cheif of Staff.  Court records show the couple now lives in Sun Prairie, indicating that they moved to the Madison area during the same time that many of the rest of Governor Walker's former Milwaukee County Executive staff moved to Madison. Pierick has a position at the Department of Instruction and Russell is believed to have been involved in Republican campaigns the past year.

In addition to child pornography, the complaint also states that the online activity of both Russell and Pierick demonstrate clear signs of "groomers" that prey on children for sex, some of which led to felony charges to be filed against Pierick.   

These charges come a week after Governor Walker appointed attorney Jennifer Dorrow, self-described on her website as a "child sex crimes defense lawyer," county judge of the same county where Russell and Pierick committed their crimes.