A 26-year-old Chehalis man has been charged with eight felonies after allegedly creating at least one image depicting the sexual abuse of a child and possessing others.
One of the images was of an infant girl in his care, according to court documents.
Christopher Aldon Forrest has been held in the Lewis County Jail since his arrest on Oct. 27.
He has been charged with promoting commercial sex abuse of a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of second-degree dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, two counts of first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, first-degree viewing depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and second-degree viewing depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
All of the charges are felonies, but promoting commercial sex abuse of a minor is a Class A felony, punishable by up to life in prison. Six of the charges are Class B felonies, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
The Chronicle is limiting details of the investigation to protect a victim’s identity.
Forrest appeared to cry during his initial appearance in Lewis County Superior Court early last week, when he was ordered held in the Lewis County Jail without bail as the prosecutor’s office prepared the criminal charges against him.
He returned to court on Friday, Oct. 31, where Judge J. Andrew Toynbee set his bail at $500,000, the amount requested by the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by prosecutors, a Lewis County detective was made aware of the potential crimes on Aug. 25, when the sheriff’s office received a notice from the Internet Crimes Against Children data system portal.
The notice provided details of online activity that occurred on Aug. 21, when Forrest allegedly shared a nude photo of an infant girl in his care.
“I just took that picture … I like to use her,” he allegedly wrote to another user on the Kik messaging app.
The evidence indicated the photo was created via the Kik messaging app’s in-app camera, meaning it is likely Forrest uploaded the image and it did not already exist.
The detective reviewed messages sent from an account later linked to Forrest as part of a conversation with another Kik user. The two exchanged images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, with the account linked to Forrest requesting, and apparently receiving, payment for the alleged photo of the infant who was in his care.
Multiple photos and videos exchanged between the accounts depicted the sexual abuse of children ranging in age from the infant to girls around 12 years old. Google and MediaLab, owner of Kik, worked with authorities through search warrants to determine Forrest was responsible for the material.
Forrest is scheduled to return to court Thursday, Nov. 5, for an arraignment and trial setting hearing.
He remained held in the Lewis County Jail as of Wednesday. A sexual assault protection order has been entered for the infant victim in the case, and Forrest is barred from having any contact with children or being anywhere they are present if he posts bail before the conclusion of the criminal case against him.
Forrest has no previous criminal history.
