Bail Reduction Delayed For RivCo Man Charged With Possession Of Child Pornography

INDIO, CA — At the request of his attorney, a bail reduction hearing was postponed Thursday for a Desert Hot Springs man accused of possessing hundreds of pornographic pictures and videos of children, as well as seeking to make contact with minors in person.

Ian Scott Whitney, 35, was arrested on June 16 following a Desert Hot Springs Police Department investigation stemming from an online sting handled by the Riverside County Child Exploitation Team, to which DHSPD personnel are assigned.

Whitney is charged with possession of child porn, arranging to meet a minor for illicit purposes, indecent exposure and two counts of contacting a minor with intent to perpetrate specific offenses.

At the Larson Justice Center in Indio Thursday, Superior Court Judge Dean Benjamini had been set to hear a defense motion for bail reduction, but Whitney's public defender asked for a delay in the hearing, so the judge rescheduled it to July 22. It was unclear why the matter wasn't heard.

Whitney remains held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.

According to a DHSPD statement posted to social media, Whitney was allegedly seeking out youths in online spaces and encountered undercover investigators from the Child Exploitation Team.

Details regarding the ensuing investigation were not specified. However, the team ultimately gathered sufficient evidence to obtain and serve a warrant at the defendant's residence in the 9500 block of San Rafael Drive, where he was taken into custody without incident on June 16.

The police department alleged Whitney was in "possession of more than 600 images of child sexual abuse material," all of which was seized.

The defendant's alleged efforts to meet up with minors were documented during his online activity, investigators said.

The basis for the indecent exposure count was unclear.

Whitney has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.