Man arrested on 30 counts of child porn, police say

A Hot Springs man was arrested Wednesday morning on multiple felony counts involving child pornography after an investigation by the Arkansas attorney general’s Cyber Crimes Unit and the Hot Springs Police Department.

Nikolas Antonios Pandis, 40, was taken into custody around 9:45 a.m. at his residence and charged with 30 counts of possessing, distributing or viewing of matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Pandis, who lists no prior felony history, remained in custody Friday on a $105,000 bond and is set to appear Aug. 22 in Garland County District Court, although he will likely be arraigned before then if unable to post bond.

According to a news release Thursday by Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, Pandis’ arrest resulted from an investigation by his office’s Special Investigations Division Cyber Crimes Unit in conjunction with Hot Springs police.

According to a probable cause affidavit, agents with Griffin’s office and police executed a search warrant at Pandis’s residence in reference to internet crimes against children.

During the search, several electronic devices and storage devices were found in a bedroom belonging to Pandis, authorities said. A forensic search of some of the devices turned up over 3,000 images or videos of “sexually explicit conduct involving children,” authorities said.