Affidavit: Vancouver man admits to possessing child porn

A Vancouver man suspected of possessing a “plethora” of images of child pornography, including at least one featuring a toddler, made a first court appearance Wednesday.

Jonathan C. Putman, 28, appeared in custody in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of four counts of first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Judge Bernard Veljacic set bail at $5,000, which Putman posted, according to court records. An arraignment hearing was set for Oct. 2.

Around Dec. 15, 2016, Google submitted a cyber tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding a user who attempted to attach child pornography to an email, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The Vancouver Police Department Digital Evidence Cybercrime Unit began investigating on June 14, 2018.

More than a year later, on July 3, another tip from the National Center, submitted by Facebook, was sent to police. A user attempted to send another image of child pornography, according to the affidavit. The Facebook account contained Putman’s name, date of birth and cellphone number that matched the one listed on the Google account, the affidavit said.

Police obtained a search warrant for Putman’s home and devices. When contacted Tuesday by police, Putman admitted to having child pornography on a thumb drive and hard drive, both of which were located in his vehicle, according to the affidavit. Putman also admitted that the Google account was his and remembered sending the reported Google and Facebook images, the affidavit said.

“A preliminary viewing of the thumb drive found in Putman’s vehicle yielded a plethora of child pornography meeting the Washington state requirements for first and second degree,” the affidavit reads.

A brief review of four images on the thumb drive revealed images of children between the ages of 3 and 9 years old, according to the affidavit.