Clarkston man stockpiled hours of child porn, prosecutor says: "This is unbelievably large"

OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A two-year child porn case leaves an Oakland County man accused of stockpiling it all in court.

What they're saying:

Benjamin Weeks, an IT specialist described as a shut-in, is accused of having 35 hard drives full of vile and violent child sexual abuse material. He could get up to 45 years in prison if convicted.

"It is depicting children being sexually abused and sometimes in great distress," said Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald. "In context of what we see, which we see a lot, this is unbelievably large."

Benjamin Weeks (photo: Oakland County Sheriff's Office)

The case has been in the works since May 2023, which has left officials shocked, even the most seasoned investigators.

The backstory:

The 47-year-old lived in Clarkston, where investigators uncovered the alleged hard drives of children of all ages, babies being abused, even bestiality, with the goal of creating a server full of child porn.

Investigators put 750 hours into analyzing the stockpile before arresting Weeks at his father’s home a week prior.

"Pretrial does have some concerns for the safety of the community, and due to the nature of the offense, we are not recommending the release on recognizance for Mr. Weeks," said Christopher Wolf with the Oakland County Pretrial Services.

What's next:

Weeks is facing six felonies and pleaded not guilty. Before the judge decided on bond in court Thursday, Weeks’ defense attorney Colin Daniels weighed in.

"It’s not that he doesn’t have violent criminal history; he doesn’t have any criminal history at all. My understanding is the only thing on his record is a traffic accident from 5 years ago," Daniels said.

Ultimately, a judge gave Weeks a 100-thousand-dollar cash bond.

"This is not a victimless hobby; it involves real kids who have been sexually abused in terrible, awful ways, and then those images remain in perpetuity," McDonald said.