West Plains, Mo. – An Ava man was arrested last week following an investigation that began with the discovery of child pornography at a house that was being torn down. Harold Lloyd Blair, age 66 of Ava, is charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Minor Child, a class A felony, and Possession of Child Pornography – Possessing more than 20 pictures, a class B felony.
The charges stem from an investigation that began on December 1, 2022 when Douglas County employees were tearing down a house on State Highway FF on the eastern side of Ava that had belonged to Blair and was recently purchased by the county. According to the probable cause statement, workers discovered a filing cabinet that contained multiple photos of a young female child performing sex acts with an older man. Law enforcement were called and evidence was collected.
The investigator, Corporal James Nelson, questioned Blair at his apartment in Ava about the photos and was taken into custody. While being interviewed at the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Blair admitted he was the man in the photo and the girl was 11 to 12 years old at the time the pictures were taken in 2012 and 2013. According to the statement, the parents of the girl had been living with him and were aware of the sexual relationship. Over 52 photos had been present.
Blair also disclosed another victim in Las Vegas, Nevada and another minor child in Douglas County under the age of 4. According to the statement, Blair said “it is hard to deny (he) did it since there is pictures.” Blair gave law enforcement approval to search two storage units that might contain more photographs.
Harold Blair is being held in the Douglas County Jail on $100,000 cash bond.
