Man arrested for child pornography one day before he was to be sentenced for similar charge

Spokane police have arrested a 68-year-old man suspected of possessing child pornography the day before he was scheduled to be sentenced for a similar charge from the year before, according to court documents.

Gerald R. Fox was arrested on July 21 at the Howard Johnson Motel at 20 W. Houston Ave. after motel cleaning staff discovered a collection of nude photos of children in his room, according to a search warrant document.

Fox also was arrested last year in March when deputies discovered suspected child pornography in his home at an RV park in north Spokane.

Fox was scheduled to check out from the Howard Johnson Motel at 11 a.m. Thursday. When he failed to check out, a general manager spoke with him over the phone and told him he would either need to pay for another night or remove his belongings. Fox, who was not at the motel, became angry and refused to pay.

The general manager ordered motel staff to begin collecting Fox’s personal items in the hotel room in boxes, according to court documents. After double-checking the dresser drawers in the room, a hotel staff member discovered a stack of about 20 photos printed on 8-by-10-inch printer paper depicting nude girls who were “obviously under 10 years old.”

Officers later discovered a variety of child pornography, including hundreds of photos of seemingly digitally rendered images of children, from infants to teenagers.

Fox was jailed Thursday on $100,000 bond. He does not have a criminal history in Spokane County before 2021.

Spokane County Sheriff’s Office deputies first arrested him on suspicion of malicious mischief on March 1, 2021, at the North Spokane RV Park, 10904 N. Newport Highway, after he intentionally crashed his vehicle into another resident’s trailer, according to court documents. After his arrest, Fox asked deputies to retrieve his keys from his RV and to lock the door. A Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputy noticed what appeared to be child pornography inside the RV, the affidavit said.

Further investigation of Fox’s RV revealed hand-written notes that discussed sexual violence of young girls, some of which “seemed to suggest (Fox) had observed and studied the movements of girls who lived in the RV park and a previous RV Park,” according to court documents.

Authorities said they discovered a variety of child pornography, including more than 500 printed photos, as well as video copies of suspected child pornography.

Fox told deputies that he had the photos for about five years and originally downloaded them from the internet for his own gratification, according to court documents.

Fox was released last year under the condition that he not have any contact with minors. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the new charges next month.