Bail set for Las Vegas police sergeant accused of possessing child sex abuse material

A judge set bail at $100,000 on Thursday for a Metropolitan Police Department sergeant facing charges of possession of child sexual abuse material. Prosecutors said in court that more than 200 images depicting young girls in a sexual manner were discovered on the sergeant’s devices.

The new charges came after Sgt. Kevin Menon was indicted Oct. 9 in a separate case in which he is accused of illegally detaining people on the Las Vegas Strip. Minutes before Menon was due in court Wednesday morning regarding his initial charges, Dominic Gentile, said he got a call from Menon, who told him, “I have a tail behind me.”

“He never made it to the courtroom because they arrested him,” Gentile said. “They waited for him to get here to arrest him.”

Police said that the new charges are part of the department’s ongoing investigation into Menon. He is accused of forcefully bumping into a person on a walkway between two Strip hotels, pretending to be a “suspicious person” to engage people in conversation before detaining them and shoving a fellow Metro officer, among other actions that amounted to people being unlawfully arrested.

Officers searching Menon’s devices found images of young girls exposed and posing in a sexual manner and, in some images, being sexually assaulted, according to a declaration of warrant and summons. The material was found on devices recovered during a search of Menon’s residence in relation to the initial charges, records show.

Justice of the Peace Nadia Wood said in court Thursday that the totality of the two cases gave her concerns for the safety of the community. Before court resumed session, Wood had been shown the images in question, prosecutors said.

“Sgt. Menon was entrusted with a lot of power in the community by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department,” Wood said. “Both allegations involve victimizing those who are vulnerable, who are not in positions of power.”

Bail arguments heard in court

Deputy District Attorney Nicholas Portz said that the state requested bail be set at $250,000, an amount that Gentile called “sinful.” Portz, alongside Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Hamner, expressed concerns that Menon could be a flight risk as well as a danger to himself and others. Prosecutors also argued that if freed, Menon might destroy evidence.

The child sexual abuse material was found on two laptops, records show. But while Portz said one of these laptops was found on a desk, the other one was found in the kitchen sink, surrounded by wet coffee grinds.

Portz said he could think of “no other reason” why the laptop would be in the sink, “other than to potentially destroy what is contained on that device.”

Hamner said that beyond concerns about protecting evidence, Menon was “absolutely” a flight risk. “He abused the public trust as an officer, and he’s exploiting children when in his private time,” Hamner said. “You can’t look at the two cases in isolation. The walls are caving in on Mr. Menon.”

Hamner also argued that Menon could be a danger to himself, “because the stain that comes with these types of cases is huge.”

The state requested that Wood order Menon to surrender his passport and any firearms, but Gentile said that both are in his possession. “I now have them,” he said, adding they were gathered Wednesday night.

”If he doesn’t have a passport, and he doesn’t, it’s a lot harder for him to flee,” Gentile said, arguing that Wood set bail at $10,000 rather than $250,000 requested by prosecutors.

“As far as killing himself, he doesn’t have any guns to do it with, but you can do it with a pencil if you use it right,” Gentile said. “There’s nothing anybody could do to stop that from happening.”

Wood said she balanced all factors, and that she had concerns about the “sophistication” of both crimes. “I do have concerns about the allegations of ongoing, repeated victimization of vulnerable individuals in various settings.”

If Menon posts bail, he will be subjected to electronic monitoring, Wood said.

New details surrounding the allegations

Portz said that he felt it was important that Wood view the images on Menon’s laptops, as the “victims in these images are children, little girls, and amongst the most vulnerable victims in society today.” He said the acts perpetrated on the victims in the images, which include sexual assault, are “heinous.”

On both of laptops searched, Portz said that there were “sophisticated software and programs that were designed to hide the criminal activity being committed,” including VPNs, or virtual private networks, which allow users to hide their IP address and access foreign websites.

This software is a concern for the state, Portz said, as even with high level electronic monitoring, if Menon were to be released from Clark County Detention Center, his “ability to access these images and hide this criminal activity” is not possible to monitor.

Also found on the laptops were search terms that Portz said indicate that Menon is familiar with “known code words” used in circles where “people are actively searching for child pornographic material.”

Of the more than 200 images found so far, Gentile, who viewed the exhibits alongside Wood, said he conceded that two of them “contain hardcore pornography” involving girls that Gentile said “certainly look” to be younger than 16.

But, Gentile said, two other people have access to the laptops the images were found on. Hamner said that these two people are Menon’s wife and her sister. “I don’t think they were looking at that stuff,” Hamner said.

While one computer was “entirely” in Menon’s name, the other laptop showed “dormant” activity when Menon was overseas to represent Metro at a police academy.

“Within days” of his return, Portz said, about 80 to 90 child sexual abuse material images were uploaded to the computer from a mobile source.

Menon, dressed in Clark County Detention Center garb, watched proceedings from near a side door in the court, rather than from the bench alongside other in-custody defendants.

Portz argued in court that Menon was using his Metro badge to “engage in criminal activities under the color of law,” and that when he was at home and “still a police officer,” he was accessing child sexual abuse materials.

Whether “at work or at play,” Portz said Menon has actively victimized people and violated their rights.

If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available 24/7 by calling or texting the Lifeline network at 988. Live chat is available at 988lifeline.org.