Seattle police have arrested a 63-year-old man following an Internet Crimes Against Children investigation this month that uncovered child sexual abuse material (CSAM) dating back decades.
On March 3, more than a dozen binders containing CSAM were discovered by two unhoused people looking inside a dumpster in the 200 block of Queen Anne Avenue North. The pair immediately called 911 to get in touch with police and to show officers where they’d found the items.
When SPD officers arrived on scene, they climbed into the dumpster, near an apartment building, and went through the contents looking for any other evidence that could help in the investigation. Officers discovered loose papers containing the suspect’s name and more CSAM, 14 binders in total, with the material meticulously catalogued. Some of the material appeared to have been printed out from a computer with dates ranging from 1998 to 2013.
Following the discovery, Seattle police detectives worked to process the evidence and to track down the suspect.
On March 21, officers served a search warrant at the 63-year-old suspect’s Seattle apartment. They took him into custody and interviewed him.
During the interview, the suspect admitted he’d recently thrown away the CSAM in the dumpsters near his apartment. He told Seattle police that prior to 1983, he’d molested approximately 50 children in another state dating back to when he was a teenager. He said he’d only stopped when he was reported and arrested in 1983 and claimed he had not molested any other children since then. The suspect also told Seattle police he’d started viewing and printing CSAM in the late 1990s to early 2000s.
As Seattle police officers continued their investigation, they located more CSAM on the suspect’s home computer and found more print-outs in boxes in his apartment.
The suspect was arrested for possession of depictions of minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He was booked in the King County Jail.
The investigation is ongoing by members of the ICAC Task Force.
For more information about this case, please contact the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Incident #: 2025-057676
The Seattle Police Department is the Lead Agency for the Washington Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (WA ICAC TF). The WA ICAC TF is a multi-jurisdictional group of agencies dedicated to the protection of children from sexual abuse and exploitation. Learn more about SPD’s ICAC Unit here.