Man admits having child porn

The child pornography he possessed while living in a Spokane police officer’s home “was the worst stuff” imaginable, registered sex offender Thomas R. Herman said Friday in U.S. District Court.

His description of his collection of 1,000 child porn images came as the 65-year-old defendant pleaded guilty to a federal charge of possession of child pornography.

Because he has a 1986 conviction for raping and taking nude photographs of girls, Herman faces a minimum of 10 years in prison when he is sentenced Feb. 6.

Herman’s plea agreement with the U.S. attorney’s office was sealed from public inspection, apparently because it details his willingness as part of the deal to be interviewed by FBI agents.

“It’s sealed because there are portions that aren’t for public consumption,” said his attorney, Assistant Federal Defender Tina Hunt.

She and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Whitaker moved to have the plea bargain made secret, and U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle granted their joint motion without discussion in court.

Whitaker declined to say why the sex offender’s public bargain was sealed.

As part of the deal, Whitaker said in court, the U.S. attorney’s office will move for the dismissal of two other federal charges contained in an Aug. 8 indictment: receipt of child pornography and advertisement of child pornography.

Herman was one of 22 suspects in 20 states arrested by FBI agents for posting child pornography photos on a sophisticated encrypted Web site operated by the “North American Man/Girl Love Association.” The group advocates legalizing sexual contact between adults and children.

While Herman lived with Cpl. David Freitag, the police officer was storing 10 firearms for the convicted felon, court documents say.

After Herman’s arrest July 25, the police officer was placed on “administrative leave,” and remains in that status with full pay.

Freitag was the focus of a criminal investigation, conducted by the same department he works for, and now is the subject of an internal affairs investigation. Freitag, who has hired his own attorney, has not been charged with any state or federal crime or faced any discipline.

Officer Teresa Fuller, a team public information officer for the Spokane Police Department, said Friday the internal affairs investigation is continuing. Senior commanders can’t predict when it will be concluded or when Freitag’s future status as a police officer will be decided, Fuller said.

Freitag’s name didn’t come up in U.S. District Court as Herman, wearing a navy blue jail jumpsuit, pleaded guilty.

In accepting the plea, the judge said he wanted Herman to understand the consequences of waiving his right to a jury trial and the elements of the crime, including the location and type of material he possessed.

Herman said he possessed the child porn in the basement he rented from Freitag and his wife, who have two teenage sons and a 6-year-old daughter.

It’s “very obvious” child pornography, Herman told the judge, “some of the worst stuff that can be imagined.”

“Did you possess these materials?” the judge asked.

“Yes, I did, your honor,” Herman responded.

At the time of his arrest, FBI agents said they found an estimated 1,000 child porn pictures on Herman’s computer and compact discs. His guilty plea said only that there were more than 600 images, a threshold for sentencing purposes.

Herman told the judge he collected the porn on the Internet, but had no way of knowing specifically where it came from. “The biggest majority was from overseas, mainly Russia,” he said.

Herman, who has been in jail since his arrest in late July, will remain there until he is sentenced.

Hunt said Herman and the Freitags are longtime friends, and that’s why he was allowed to rent quarters in the basement of the police officer’s home.

The federal defender said her client “at no time baby-sat” the Freitags’ children, as Herman reportedly claimed in his initial interview with the FBI.

The Freitag’s 6-year-old daughter, interviewed by a specially trained child sex counselor, said she was occasionally left alone with Herman, according to detectives reports. But her account was contradicted by statements from Freitag and his wife, who both said that never occurred.

Herman is “regretful and remorseful” that his arrest “has caused this mess for the Freitag family. He never meant to cause them harm,” Hunt said.