More On Alton Man Charged With Child Porn, Sexual Assault Of 4-Month-Old

ALTON - An Alton man faces seven Class X felonies after allegedly sexually assaulting a 4-month-old child and sharing photographs of the act online.

Nathan J. Welch, 31, of Alton, has been charged with two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and five counts of child pornography, each Class X felonies.

Welch allegedly sexually assaulted a 4-month-old child from the day they were born on March 2, 2024, to June 4, 2024, and shared photos of him doing so on the online messaging platform Kik, according to Madison County court documents.

A petition filed to deny Welch’s pretrial release adds that a search warrant was executed on his Alton residence after a cybertip was submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, then forwarded to Madison County authorities.

“On June 27, 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cybertip from the Kik application that a user was sharing child pornography on their platform,” the petition states. “This tip was forwarded to the Edwardsville Police Department for investigation on June 28, 2024.”

Further investigation by Edwardsville police revealed that the IP address associated with the device sharing the child pornography corresponded to Welch’s address in the 700 block of West Delmar Avenue in Alton. A search warrant was executed at the residence, where it was determined Welch resided at the address with the victim and her mother.

Welch was then taken into custody and interviewed. During his interview, he reportedly admitted to taking the photos and sharing them.

Welch’s case was presented by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, and he was remanded to jail until his initial court appearance. He currently remains in custody at the Madison County Jail.

The issuance of charges is based solely upon probable cause and is not an indication of guilt. All subjects charged with criminal offenses are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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