PORTLAND — A Camas woman admitted Wednesday to taking a baby to Oregon, where prosecutors say she and her boyfriend sexually abused the girl for two years.
Federal prosecutors plan to recommend 25 years in prison for Carolyn M. Knudsen, 29, after she pleaded guilty to transportation of a minor for criminal sexual activity. Knudsen will be sentenced in August; three additional counts of sex abuse and child pornography charges will be dropped as part of a plea agreement.
The boyfriend, 36-year-old James L. Hickerson, and his father, 57-year-old Neil L. Hickerson, both of Gresham, Ore., also were arrested after authorities said they found hundreds of child porn videos and pictures on their laptops as well as images featuring Knudsen and the baby on James Hickerson’s cellphone.
Neil Hickerson, who was convicted in 1999 in Grant County, Ore., of attempted first-degree sexual abuse involving a minor, pleaded guilty Wednesday to possession of child pornography in the case. When U.S. District Judge Michael Simon asked the elder Hickerson if he admitted to possessing 600 images on his laptop, he replied, “I didn’t know it was that high, your honor.”
Prosecutors plan to recommend a 10-year sentence for the father.
James Hickerson pleaded not guilty in September in federal court to distribution of child pornography, possession of child pornography, aggravated sex abuse and transportation of a minor for criminal sexual activity. His trial is set for September.
The girl was placed in the custody of the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.
The case against the trio began when authorities started investigating alleged online sharing of child porn from the Hickersons’ Gresham home in August, court documents said. Investigators found evidence of illegal images when they searched the father and son’s electronic devices, the documents indicated.
Neil Hickerson told investigators that he and his son regularly viewed child porn together and James Hickerson told authorities that he had nude photos and videos of his girlfriend and the baby, court documents said.
Video clips from the boyfriend’s cellphone appeared to show him and Knudsen performing sex acts on the child, the court documents said. In one instance, Knudsen abused the girl via Skype as her boyfriend watched, the records said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Shoemaker said James Hickerson drove Knudsen and the child at least once a month between August 2012 and August 2014 from Camas to his home in Gresham. The child was often present in the room when the couple had sex, Shoemaker said.
Knudsen admitted to investigators last year that she sent nude photos of the child, but her plea hearing was delayed a day when she would not admit Tuesday to a child pornography production charge that was part of the initial agreement with prosecutors.
When Judge Simon asked Knudsen on Tuesday if she admitted to the allegation, the 29-year-old hesitated, said “yes” in a slow, high-pitched voice and then began to cry.
“It was by accident, your honor,” she later said.
Knudsen claimed the incidents were mischaracterized. In one case, she told the judge she was taking a naked photo of herself, but didn’t know the child was in the background.
She also denied being shown on video abusing the girl. She claimed her boyfriend took nude photos of the child on his cellphone without her knowledge.
Following Knudsen’s statement, Shoemaker said the plea deal would be revoked and the hearing was interrupted for more than an hour as both sides deliberated. The hearing was continued to Wednesday and the plea agreement revised.
