81-year-old accused of custom child pornography with more than 1,000 images

Child porn suspect, 81, had more than 1,000 custom-made images

James Meloche of Clarkston is accused of altering photos of kids by placing images of children onto pornographic photos of adults.

CLARKSTON, Mich. (FOX 2) - An 81-year-old Metro Detroit man is accused of having more than 1,000 images of custom-made child porn.

The backstory:

James Meloche is accused of altering photos of kids by placing images of children onto pornographic photos of adults.

He’s charged with three counts of child sexually abusive activity, three counts of using a computer to commit a crime and three counts of possession of child sexually abusive material.

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office says many of the photos were his neighbor's three children who Meloche knew.

"The reviewed police report indicated the children depicted in the images are his former neighbor’s children," said prosecutor Christopher Wolf. "Pretrial services spoke with the alleged victim's father.

"He said they live about two blocks from the defendant currently."

Police say the images would often contain graphic captions detailing what was being displayed and some included graphic drawings.

More than 1,000 photos were recovered after a search of Meloche’s home on Glenburnie Drive in Clarkston.

He lived in the community for more than 20 years and previously served as chair of the historic district commission — where — investigators say, one day after a meeting in October of 2023, a stack of papers belonging to Meloche were discovered including agendas, copies of emails — and sexual images of children.

"He was on the ski patrol with regard to the 1988 Winter Olympics," said Attorney Jeff Quas. "This is a man who has a long-storied, successful, respectable and envied career both professionally and from a community perspective. He is not a flight risk."

Meloche’s bond was set at $100,000 cash surety, no 10 percent. If he doesn’t post bond he is not allowed to have contact with the victims, anyone under the age of 18 and is not allowed access to the internet.

James Meloche