Boulder County, Colo. - On Monday, March 9, 2026, 36-year-old Thomas Daniel MERRITT was arrested on 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a child relating to the possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

The investigation began after the Colorado Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about possible CSAM being stored on a cloud storage platform. Upon learning that the suspect was possibly in the Boulder County area, Colorado ICAC sent the tip to the Boulder County Digital Forensics Lab, an ICAC Task Force affiliate, for further investigation.

Through investigation and service of court orders on various electronic service providers, an investigator at the Boulder County Digital Forensics Lab identified MERRITT as a suspect. A search warrant was then served at MERRITT’s residence in the 1300 block of South Lincoln Street in the City of Longmont on November 6, 2025. Further investigation and examination of electronic devices recovered during the search warrant resulted in probable cause to obtain an arrest warrant for MERRITT for the charges mentioned above.

MERRITT was booked into the Boulder County Jail on March 9, 2026 on the arrest warrant with no bond (until seen by a judicial officer) for: five counts of violating C.R.S. §18-6-403(3)(b.5)(5.5), sexual exploitation of a child—possession of video, a Class 4 Felony; and five counts of violating C.R.S. §18-6-403(3)(b.5)(5.5), sexual exploitation of a child—possession of images, a Class 5 Felony.

Agencies who assisted with this investigation include the: Boulder County Digital Forensics Lab, Longmont Department of Public Safety, Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, Boulder County District Attorney’s Office, Boulder Police Department, and Longmont SWAT.

District Attorney Michael Dougherty stated, “We are fortunate in Boulder County as we have a Digital Forensics Lab and they pursue this criminal conduct because the investigators fully recognize the serious and scary nature of child sexual exploitation cases. This work is a priority for law enforcement and my office.”

The associated Boulder County Sheriff’s Office case number for this investigation is 26-00536.

About the Boulder County Digital Forensics Lab:
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office houses local members of the Colorado ICAC Task Force, comprised of Boulder County Digital Forensics Lab investigators from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, Longmont Department of Public Safety, Boulder Police Department, and Boulder County District Attorney’s Office. In addition to other responsibilities, investigators assigned to the Boulder County Digital Forensics Lab are tasked with investigating child sexual exploitation cases and high technology crimes and provide digital forensics expertise and analysis on a wide range of cases.

About ICAC:
The Colorado Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force is a group of local and federal law enforcement agencies and prosecutors located in and around the state of Colorado who are trained and dedicated to protecting children online by investigating and prosecuting crimes committed against children, facilitated by the internet, technology, and computer usage. Colorado ICAC is a member of the National ICAC Task Force.

If you suspect a child is being sexually exploited online, you can report it online at NCMEC's CyberTipLine website or by calling 1-800-THE-LOST.

As in every criminal case, these charges are merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.

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/s/Detective Sergeant Clay Leak, BCDFL

MERRITT booking photo