MORONGO VALLEY MAN ARRESTED, ACCUSED OF DISTRIBUTING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

A Morongo Valley man was arrested Wednesday (February 24) following a tip that he was distributing child pornography online. An electronic service provider notified the deputies in the Crimes Against Children detail that videos of child pornography were being distributed online. Investigators learned the online account belonged to Sean Merker, 50. On Wednesday, detectives contacted Merker at his home in the 49200 block of Tamarisk Drive in Morongo Valley. At the conclusion of the interview, Sean Merker was arrested on suspicion of distribution of child porn, booked into the Central Detention Center, with his bail set at $25,000. Merker was released on a bail bond just before 6 p.m. Wednesday.