A Vancouver man who was arrested in February during an underage sex sting appeared Friday in Clark County Superior Court for allegedly possessing dozens of images of child pornography.
David W. Collins, 55, appeared on 10 counts of first-degree possessing depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, court records show.
Dropbox Inc., a file-hosting service, contacted the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children on Nov. 8, 2016, about an account that appeared to be used to upload child pornography.
The case was initially investigated by the Oregon Department of Justice but was reassigned to the Vancouver Police Department’s Digital Evidence Cybercrime Unit in October, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Dropbox found that the account, which was later traced back to Collins, had been used to upload at least 10 movie files depicting child pornography, the affidavit states.
Collins was arrested Feb. 18 by the Washington State Patrol after meeting with an undercover officer during a child sex-trafficking sting conducted by various law enforcement agencies. His cellphone was seized at that time, and numerous images of child pornography were discovered on it, court records said.
In his Dropbox account, investigators found more than 70 videos of child pornography, according to court documents.
Investigators served a search warrant Dec. 7 at Collins’ home and on his vehicle and person. They seized his cellphone and tablet. An initial search of his phone showed he had been accessing the internet, which is apparently a violation of his release conditions, the affidavit states.
On Friday, Collins’ bail was set at $30,000. He will be arraigned Tuesday.
