A 40-year-old Chehalis man faces felony charges after investigators with the Washington State Patrol allegedly found him in possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Grayson T. Hart was booked into the Lewis County Jail at about 10:53 a.m. Dec. 5. He made a preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Monday, Dec. 8.
Hart was charged with one count each of first-degree dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct and first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Both felonies are considered Class B offenses, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $20,000 in fines.
In its affidavit of probable cause, the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office detailed the undercover investigation led by detectives with the state patrol’s High Tech Crime Unit (HTCU).
According to the affidavit, the suspect — whose identity was then unknown — had allegedly been using the peer-to-peer file sharing network known as BitTorrent to distribute CSAM.
As part of the investigation, detectives made a connection to a device with the suspect’s Internet Protocol (IP) address. The IP address had reportedly been associated with a particular torrent file that referenced thousands of files, “at least one of which was identified as being a file of investigative interest to CSAM investigations,” according to the affidavit.
After connecting with the suspect’s device, investigators successfully downloaded a portion of a file that was reportedly made available for sharing.
The downloaded video allegedly depicts a suspected minor engaged in a sexual act with an adult male whose face is not shown.
According to the affidavit, investigators determined the IP address was registered to Comcast Cable Communications and applied for a search warrant with the Thurston County Superior Court to locate the subscriber’s information.
After obtaining the warrant, state patrol detectives reviewed Comcast’s records and allegedly discovered that Hart was the account’s sole subscriber.
On Nov. 21, detectives located Hart at his residence in Chehalis.
On Dec. 5, detectives executed a search warrant on the residence, where they interviewed Hart, who reportedly said he lived by himself.
The suspect allegedly admitted to downloading the CSAM using BitTorrent, and added that he “primarily uses his cell phone for these downloads,” according to the affidavit.
“Hart stated that he is ashamed of these files and does not get sexual gratification from them, and is primarily interested in other pornographic material,” the affidavit states.
Detectives allegedly confirmed that BitTorrent and the Brave web browser Hart used were installed on the laptop, though no CSAM files were reportedly found during the initial review.
Detectives seized the laptop, a cellphone and other electronic storage devices for further forensic examination.
During the preliminary hearing, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Scott Jackson requested a bail of $100,000 cash or surety, and indicated the investigation is ongoing.
“They have to go through his phone or his computer electronic devices more thoroughly, but the state is concerned about these depictions and the kind of disposition that he may want to have to contact children,” Jackson said.
Jackson asked that standard conditions of release include an order prohibiting the defendant from direct or indirect contact with minor children and from frequenting locations where minor children are known to congregate.
The prosecutor asked the court to prohibit Hart from possessing electronic devices that can access the internet.
Defense attorney Rachael Tiller asked for bail of no more than $25,000, noting Hart had no criminal history and had resided locally his entire life, meaning he had “no issue” with returning to court.
She added that Hart “absolutely understands” the conditions of release. The attorney indicated that at least one supporter was present in the courtroom on Hart’s behalf.
Commissioner Cailen L. Cecil called the allegations “serious.”
“Oftentimes, folks believe, ‘Well it’s just pictures, no one’s getting hurt,’ and that’s just not the case,” Cecil said, calling the distribution of such material “very harmful to the community,” and the children involved.
Cecil set bail at $50,000 cash or bond — which she said took into consideration Hart’s financial circumstances and lack of criminal history — and ordered the additional conditions requested by the state.
Hart was scheduled for an arraignment on Thursday, Dec. 11, with Albert Didcock assigned as his attorney.
