| By Big Radio News Staff |
A Janesville man is in custody after police waded through his squalid house to find evidence of child pornography authorities had been investigating for a year.
Janesville police say they arrested Robert Sharpe III early Tuesday at his home in the 1400 block of Canyon Drive after search warrant turned up evidence leading to two counts of child pornography.
A Police S.W.A.T. team had to fight through what police say was an accumulation of garbage and waste in the house that created a “significant health risk to any potential occupants.”
Police are now working with the city’s housing department to address living conditions at the house police call “concerning.”
City property inspectors are allowed to place cleanup orders on properties that are considered so filthy they’ve become uninhabitable. Those properties are typically made off-limits to the people living in there unless the people are actively cleaning up the properties.
Janesville Neighborhood Services officials say the city cited 16 properties over the last year in which filth and hoarding created conditions the city deemed unlivable for humans.
A Janesville police dog handler, Detective Jeff Winiarski, says the place was so filthy and overpopulated with insects the department decided against sending in its electronic-sniffing dog.
Winiarski says the specially trained search dog, Maui, has become ill before after snuffling through other crime scenes that were overrun with filth.
“Humans are able to wear protective clothing and N-95 masks. We don’t have that option with (Maui,) and I was trying to avoid him getting sick,” Winiarski said.
“He went into a similar situation and was down for about a week after getting a ‘bug’ from the residence.”
It’s not clear if there are any others living at the residence.
Sharpe is 32 years old. Police seized numerous electronics during the search.
Sharpe is in Rock County Jail pending an initial court appearance.
