PROSSER, Wash. – A 23-year-old Prosser man is currently on a 72-hour-hold following a multiple month-long investigation after a tip from the National Center for Missing and Endangered Children.
Beginning in Feb. 2024, the social-media app Snapchat flagged and reported possible explicit pictures of children found on a user’s account. Two months later, Detective Tara Marks from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office was notified of the report.
In May 2024, the files as well as the user’s information were reviewed by Detective Marks. Later in the month, a search warrant was initiated to gather more information from the user’s device, cellular data and social media.
Court documents provided by the Benton County Clerk’s Office detail phone calls, messages, images and more that were obtained from the warrant.
In Aug. 2024, a judge ordered a search warrant for the suspect’s IP address and Internet Service Provider. This is when authorities were able to confirm who the network was assigned to, allowing them to surveille them properly.
Between August and October, authorities conducted surveillance of the suspect, noting his address and vehicle. Then, on Oct. 2, detectives with BCSO made contact with them at his place of work.
From there, he was transported to the Benton County courthouse, where he was read his rights and admitted to viewing depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Following his admission, he was taken to jail and booked.
Detective Marks says that the investigation is ongoing, and that they’ll be reviewing more information in the coming days.
“We currently do not have any information leading us to believe that he was a hands-on offender. However, he did work for the Prosser School District in many different capacities for five years… so we are thoroughly investigating the data we do have to ensure that we aren’t missing anything,” Marks said.
Kim Casey, Superintendent of the Prosser School District, stated that the man was immediately terminated following his arrest. He is scheduled to report back to court on Oct. 9 at 8:30 a.m.
He is being held on a $100,000 bond and is prohibited from contacting minors under 18, using the internet or social media applications and visiting areas with minors.
It is newsroom policy not to name a suspect until they have been formally charged with a crime. This is a developing story, which means information could change. We are working to report timely and accurate information as we get it.
