Clark County employee faces felony child pornography charges

A Clark County public information officer has been indicted by a federal grand jury on child pornography charges.

Erik Muller, 40, who works in the county's Nuclear Waste Division, faces a total of six felony counts, including sexual exploitation of a child, possession of child pornography and transportation of child pornography.

He is behind bars while he awaits his Feb. 7 trial, and county officials are moving to fire him.

"These are very troubling allegations, and we extend our sympathies to the victims and their families," county spokesman Erik Pappa said in a statement. "After being made aware of the federal investigation initiated by law enforcement and prior to them moving forward with an indictment of Mr. Muller, the county had initiated proceedings to terminate Mr. Muller's employment."

Muller, who has worked for the county for 10 years, was arrested after an undercover investigation by local and federal authorities, which began in October. Henderson police searched his home on Nov. 15.

In a 19-page criminal complaint, Henderson Detective Wayne Nichols said Muller had been gaining access to unlawful child pornography downloads through a laptop from home and at work.

When Muller was asked about the whereabouts of his laptop during a Nov. 15 interview, he said he had left it at his "work cubicle," Nichols wrote. Detectives learned that the laptop was using the Clark County Internet Network.

Authorities raided Muller's work station at the Clark County Government Center on Nov. 16 and seized a case containing an assortment of CDs, DVDs and USB storage devices, the complaint said.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.