Spokane man arrested in child-porn inquiry
A Spokane man is among 125 suspects arrested in a nationwide child-porn investigation of an Internet site that allowed on-line subscribers to view photos and movies of adults sexually abusing children, including infants as young as 6-month-old.
Peter Schoen, a life-long Spokane resident, was identified when federal authorities in New Jersey began investigating “illegal.CP,” a Web site offering access to “videos and images of hard-core child pornography” for an $80 subscription fee, Justice Department officials said Thursday.
Other suspects arrested include a Bible camp counselor in Vancouver, Wash., a Boy Scout leader in Texas, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent and a police officer in New Jersey, that state’s U.S. attorney said.
The case – called “Operation Emissary” – involved arrests in 22 states and the serving of 234 search warrants, authorities said. Child pornography was found in 175 of those locations, including Schoen’s home on Spokane’s South Hill, authorities said.
Like many other child-porn operations, the Internet material is believed to have come from Eastern Europe and was being distributed by various Internet servers, including some based in the United States, investigators said.
“It is every parent’s worst nightmare,” Christopher Christie, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, told reporters at a news conference in Newark, the Star-Ledger reported.
“This type of depraved conduct is something that a civilized society cannot tolerate,” Christie said.
Schoen, a 43-year-old door company manager, has been in custody since Sept. 27 when federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security served a search warrant on his home at 524 W. 19th.
Agents seized four computers, 26 compact discs, videos and other computer gear from the home, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Whitaker told U.S. Magistrate Judge Cynthia Imbrogno at a detention hearing Thursday.
Later in the day, the federal judge approved Schoen’s pre-trial release from jail under strict conditions, including electronic monitoring, posting of $75,000 in bonds and the surrender of his passport.
The federal prosecutor argued unsuccessfully that Schoen should remain in jail without bond as a “danger to society” until he stands trial in U.S. District Court. If convicted of receipt of child porn, he faces a minimum of five years in prison.
To back her contention of Schoen’s “dangerousness,” Whitaker put Homeland Security special agent Todd Beard on the stand, and he offered details of the investigation.
The four computers seized in Schoen’s home were sent to New Jersey for forensic examination, so it isn’t known yet if they contain sexually explicit computer files of children, Beard testified.
He and another Homeland Security agent based in Spokane have examined nine of 26 compact discs taken from Schoen’s home and have counted more than 800 pictures and more than 100 videos depicting child porn, Beard told the court.
The federal agent said the investigation revealed Schoen, using an Internet protocol address traced to his South Hill home, had accessed the “illegal.CP” site more than 3,000 times.
Beard also said Schoen was identified, but not arrested for evidentiary reasons, during a 2003 nationwide child-porn investigation known at “Operation Falcon.”
Schoen, who currently lives alone, has two ex-wives who made court-recorded claims of domestic violence against him and got no-contact orders, Beard testified. He has two sons with his first wife but has little or no contact with them, the agent said.
Defense attorney Mark Vovos said because Schoen is presumed innocent at this point, he should be released prior to trial under strict conditions, including surrendering his passport and living with a sibling under electronic monitoring. Vovos disputed the allegations of domestic violence and said Schoen has successfully completed counseling.
Schoen has deep roots in the community, and his father was a prominent architect and businessman, Vovos said.