Independence man faces child porn charges

A 25-year-old Independence man could face at least 15 years in federal prison if he’s convicted of taking lewd videos of two unsuspecting underage girls.

A federal judge unsealed charges Wednesday accusing Nicholas A. Braile of two counts of attempting to produce child pornography, two counts of receiving child porn over the Internet and one count of possessing such material.

Authorities arrested Braile in May at an Independence Wal-Mart after he purportedly tried taking an “up skirt” photo of a female customer with his cellphone, court records said.

After examining his cellphone and home computer, investigators allegedly found a video of a 16-year-old girl taken in the restroom of a local tool retailer and up-skirt video of a 16-year-old mall employee, according to court records.

Investigators also found 2,600 images of child pornography on Braile’s phone and computers and on other computer media, court records said.

Prosecutors asked that Braile be detained pending trial, saying he is both a flight risk and a danger to the community. A federal judge has not yet ruled on that motion.

Mark Morris, mmorris@kcstar.com

This story was originally published September 3, 2014 at 5:42 PM.