A 52-year-old Brookfield financial adviser was charged Monday, July 29 in Waukesha County Circuit Court with several counts of possessing child pornography, telling police he was no longer stimulated by adult pornography.
According to the criminal complaint, Waukesha Police detectives discovered during a June 9 investigation that several files being shared online contained child pornography. The images showed prepubescent children, some of whom were being molested, in various states of undress, according to the complaint.
The IP address of the content uploaded was traced to Waukesha resident Scott A. Chier. Chier was, until recently, listed online as an adviser of Chier, Kreske & Associates, a Brookfield practice associated with Ameriprise Financial Services Inc.
A search warrant was executed July 25 of Chier's house, at 2512 Marry Ann Court, and more images of child pornography were found. He told police that he was addicted to pornography and had begun searching for underage girls. He said that he typically deletes images from his computer on a yearly basis.
Chier was charged with three counts of possession of child pornography and one count of sexual exploitation of a child.
He could face 115 years in prison and $400,000 in fines if convicted.
His bail was set at $10,000 at an initial appearance on July 29. He is expected to appear at a preliminary hearing on Aug. 5.