Buckner man arrested on child porn charges

A 54-year-old Buckner man has been arrested for failing to register as a sex offender.

Richard Faling

Richard L. Faling, was arrested by Franklin County Sheriff’s deputies and is facing three counts of unlawful failure to register as a sex offender and one count of child pornography.

Detectives with the sheriff’s department received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children concerning certain activities by Faling on the internet.

An investigation by authorities revealed that Faling was not in compliance with his sex offender registration. An arrest warrant was obtained for the sex offender violation as well as a search warrant for Faling’s residence.  The search warrant was executed and child pornography was located.  Faling was not at home at the time of the search but was later taken into custody by the U.S. Marshal’s Department when he returned.  He is being held in the Franklin County Jail.

U.S. Secret Service Cybercrime Unit members from Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, Benton Police Department, Illinois State Police along with Secret Service agents and deputies from the U.S. Marshal’s Department assisted with the investigation.