Lake Stevens man arrested in nationwide crackdown on child pornography
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A Lake Stevens man is the first Washington resident arrested in connection with a national crackdown on child pornography dubbed "Operation Candyman."
Michael Powers, 42, appeared before a federal magistrate yesterday on a single charge of possession of child pornography. He was released following the appearance.
FBI officials say 89 people in 26 states have been charged nationally. Local agents say 40 Washington residents have been targeted in connection with an Internet club whose members engaged in pedophile-related chat rooms and traded images of children engaged in sex acts. There were as many as 7,000 members worldwide and 4,600 in the U.S., according to FBI statements.
It is not clear whether all of those under investigation in Washington will be charged, according to Special Agent Robbie Burroughs in the Seattle FBI office. The local bureau has served 20 search warrants so far and confiscated large amounts of child porn, Burroughs said.
Nationwide, those arrested include clergy, police officers, foster parents and child guidance counselors, according to the Department of Justice. Burroughs said none of the individuals in Washington were in "positions of trust" with children, although some had prior convictions for child molestation.
The site was hosted by Yahoo!, which shut it down after learning of the investigation and turned over lists of its members to investigators.
Two search warrants filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle indicate the investigation began in Houston about 14 months ago. A Houston FBI agent joined the Candyman list-group and accessed hundreds of photos and video clips on an accompanying Web site. When Candyman was shut down, some of its members were referred to another site, "Shangri-la," which contained additional pornography involving children. That site has been closed as well.