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Child pornography possession charges against a former Dane County sheriff's deputy were dismissed Wednesday because of a faulty search warrant, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.

Dane County Circuit Judge John Markson ruled that a cut-and-paste error inadvertently led to a warrant to search the computers of former deputy Jeffrey C. Hilgers, 43, for child pornography, according to a story posted on the newspaper's website.

The warrant should have been issued for evidence of an illicit relationship between Hilgers and a woman who was serving a jail sentence at home on electronic monitoring, according to a the newspaper.

Evidence of the relationship was not found and the warrant and a subsequent search warrant for child pornography had to be suppressed, according to a ruling by Markson.

Seven counts of possessing child pornography against Hilgers were dismissed. However, he still faces a charge of sexual assault by correctional staff, the newspaper reported.