Former Microsoft Workers Charged In Child Porn Pair Accused Of Using Company Computers To Copy, Store Porn

Wed., Aug. 14, 1996

Associated Press

A former Microsoft employee has pleaded innocent to charges that he used company computers to access and copy child pornography from the Internet.

Ron Rosul, 31, of Seattle, who was a support engineer at the computer software company, entered his plea Monday in King County Superior Court.

He was being held in King County Jail on $20,000 bail, but could be released within a week if he can show he has community ties that will keep him from leaving the area. Family members offered the court letters of support to that end.

A second child-pornography suspect - Dwight Hunter, 43, of Bellevue - failed to appear in court Monday for his arraignment. Judge Brian Gain doubled to $100,000 the bail Hunter will face once he is arrested.

Hunter, a Bellevue Little League manager and church youth leader, is accused of using his home computer to trade child pornography. He also faces two counts of indecent exposure for allegedly exposing himself to buses of schoolchildren.

Another former Microsoft employee - Michael Seaman, 37, of Kirkland - pleaded innocent at his arraignment Thursday to charges of possessing child pornography. Seaman is accused of storing more than 2,500 sexually explicit videos and other images on a computer at his workstation at Microsoft.

A fourth man, 52-year-old William Powell of Renton, was charged with possession of child pornography for allegedly exchanging sexually explicit images of children with Hunter.

Powell is believed to have fled, possibly to Indonesia.

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.