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An Austin man facing five counts of possessing and dissemination of child pornography, has made his first appearance in Mower County District Court Thursday morning.

Spencer William George, 19, Austin is facing five felony counts of possession and one count of dissemination.

However, an order of evaluation for mental illness or cognitive impairment and an evaluation for competency to proceed was ordered and a review hearing is slated for 9 a.m. on June 30.

According to the court complaint, on Sept. 3, 2021 the Austin Police Department received a report from the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) that indicated that Discord, Inc. had informed the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a member had uploaded one file of suspected child sexual abuse material.

Subpoenas were issued by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for Discord, Google, Spring and Charter.

Through the investigation the BCA was able to determine an account connected to an “Alex Keller” and a phone number connected to the account.

An Austin Police detective reviewed the uploaded file which showed a female under 10 years of age engaged in a sex act with an adult male.

The detective was able to determine that “Alex Keller” was not a person, but instead was George. The detective met with George, who provided him with a phone number that matched the initial phone number and was also connected to the file.

When pressed about the report, George allegedly remembered the incident and that he was sent to a Discord chat server link. He told the detective that he clicked on the link and it took him to “one of those sites.”

George also admitted that Alex Keller was a fake name he had invented, but denied uploading any child pornography.

According to the complaint, the detective asked George if the phone contained any child pornography. George said he didn’t think so, but then stated it would be on his phone.

He also allegedly admitted that he had some videos and images of child pornography, telling the detective he had found the material through a black website called “tor.”

George provided the detective both his phone and a laptop.

On March 25, the detective was able to extract date from the cell phone and discovered three files of child pornography. He was also able to locate several email accounts, including the one provided to law enforcement initially.

The laptop has been sent to the BCA for further examination.