Wednesday, 06 January, 2016

Cobo spokesman Phil Frame faces child porn charges

Philip Frame Philip Frame
Elliot Roberts | 05 January, 2016, 02:28

A former public affairs director for Macomb County has been arrested on drug and pornography charges after police allegedly seized numerous child porn images in his Shelby Township house, according to the Macomb County Sheriff's Office.

The bond was continued at Monday's arraignment in 41A District Court in Shelby Township.

The Macomb County Prosecutor's Office charged Frame with five counts of possession of child sexually abusive material, one count of using a computer to commit the crime, and a misdemeanor charge for possessing marijuana.

Frame had served as the public relations representative for the Macomb County Board of Commissioners until 2009.

After receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, detectives found pornographic images of children both printed and electronic in Frame's home.

According to Macomb County Sheriff's Office Lt. John Michalke, Phil Frame, 61, was arrested on January 1. It said marijuana also was found during the search.

Detectives obtained a search warrant and on Friday searched the home on Scotland Boulevard, where Frame lived alone, police said.

Frame - who, according to his LinkedIn account, spent a decade as a reporter for various news agencies including Automotive News, The Associated Press, Battle Creek Enquirer and the Detroit News - was arrested by the sheriff's Macomb Area Computer Enforcement team.

Wickersham told The Detroit News on Monday that Frame's home had been searched in September by officers from the U.S Department of Homeland Security.

The status of that investigation is unknown. "Obviously, he didn't think anything was going to happen to him because he continued doing it".

He left that job to concentrate on his own public relations business and was quoted as a spokesman for Cobo Center in Detroit as recently as a year ago.