Jurors in the child pornography trial of Eddie Scott Seaton heard from Kevin Hicks, the man arrested along with the former Little Rock police officer when police raided Seaton's Cabot home Dec. 30, 2019.
Seaton, 55, was charged in a March 2020 federal indictment with one count each of possession and receipt of child pornography following a Dec. 30, 2019, raid on his home after authorities investigating child sexual exploitation identified an internet protocol address that was registered to Seaton and tied to a download of child pornography earlier that month.
Hicks, 50, who testified he was homeless at the time of his arrest, told jurors he was allowed to park in Seaton's driveway occasionally to charge his laptop computer and on cold nights would park in the driveway to sleep overnight with a portable heater plugged in to an electrical outlet at Seaton's home.
Charged in a separate indictment, Hicks pleaded guilty in 2021 to one count of possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison. Hicks is currently incarcerated at a federal prison in Seagoville, Texas.
He said that although he had discussed a possible reduction of his sentence with prosecutors in exchange for his testimony against Seaton, he had not been promised an early release.
"I wouldn't turn it down," he said, if offered.
Hicks denied using Seaton's computer. He said all of his computer use was on his own personal laptop computer.
"And that's why you're in that jumpsuit?" said Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Bryant, gesturing toward the blue prison scrubs Hicks was wearing.
"Well," Hicks replied. "It's a two-piece, but yes."
When the trial broke for lunch, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Ray White had just completed questioning FBI agent Lane Gimnich, a digital forensic examiner who spent about 45 minutes walking the jury through files recovered from Seaton's home computer and records of thousands of visits to two websites where the computer user had accessed child pornography and child erotica. Gimnich testified the evidence he found indicated Seaton was the only person who had used the computer.
"I did not see any documents that would have led me to believe anyone else [other than Seaton] used this computer," he said.
If convicted, Seaton faces a possible maximum 20-year prison term for the receipt of child pornography count and 10 years on the possession count.