A 20-year-old woman from Tukwila was arrested on Wednesday last week on charges of sexually abusing a 7-year-old girl and creating and distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The arrest followed an investigation by Seattle police and the Washington Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which began after a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to the Seattle Police Department Blotter.
Investigators identified the suspect through online discussions of child sexual abuse on the social media platform MeetMe. Search warrants issued to an internet service provider, Google, and MeetMe linked the suspect to the account. A search of her home uncovered CSAM on her phone, and she admitted to creating and sharing illicit images of the child.
She was booked into the King County Jail on charges of dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct in the first degree and possession of such depictions in the first degree. According to Sgt. Shawn Martinell, investigators involved advocates and a child forensic interviewer to gather information and provide services to the victim.
The Seattle Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit, which leads the task force, reports a rise in such cases. Since January, the unit has assisted with over 75 arrests, including three involving women. Female offenders make up about 25 to 30 percent of perpetrators and are often harder to detect. The ICAC Unit processes about 2,000 CyberTips from NCMEC each month, working with agencies across King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties.
