FORKS — A Forks man charged with 12 counts of possessing child pornography based on more than 270,000 images police allegedly seized at his residence has been released on his own recognizance.
William O. Crippen, 57, will be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. March 27 in Clallam County Superior Court on a dozen charges of possessing depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Five charges are first-degree offenses and seven are second-degree.
Crippen, arrested Friday and released Monday, could be sentenced to a maximum 102 months in prison, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Troberg said Tuesday.
Under state law, Crippen reaches the maximum sentence after nine counts.
Troberg would not comment on why 12 charges were filed.
“That gets into tactics,” he said.
Troberg asked for $25,000 bail Monday before Judge Christopher Melly released Crippen on his own recognizance.
Crippen does not have a prior criminal record.
Forks Police Administrator Rick Bart said Tuesday that police found more than 270,000 images of child pornography at Crippen’s house.
“We don’t know who any of the victims are right now,” Bart said.
There could be even more victims.
The state Crime Lab has completed its forensic examination of one computer seized at Crippen’s home and will complete its examination of a second computer by Friday, Kelsey Pearson, Forks Police Department public information officer, said Friday.
First arrested
Crippen was initially arrested in February for investigation of possession of child pornography and released pending the completion of the investigation that led to the filing of charges Friday.
The case began after Forks police responded to an approximately 4:25 a.m. alarm Feb. 1 at Crippen’s home in the 100 block of Elderberry Avenue, according to the Police Department’s incident report.
Here is information from the incident report:
After no one appeared to be home, two officers entered the home through an open window to determine if an intruder was present.
They found several stacks of pictures of what appeared to be pornography in plain view depicting female children.
On Feb. 2, Crippen gave written consent to a search of his home.
Each charge against Crippen relates to a specific image that was seized at Crippen’s residence.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
