Bellingham convicted sex offender reportedly found with thousands of child porn files
A Bellingham man, who was a previously convicted sex offender, was arrested after police reportedly found more than 265,000 pornographic images and videos, many involving children, on his electronic devices.
Bellingham Police booked Clifford Eugene Allen, 63, into Whatcom County Jail Thursday, Feb. 11, on suspicion of viewing and possessing depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Jail records show he was released later Thursday on $50,000 bail.
A Bellingham detective investigating internet crimes against children began an investigation into Allen on Jan. 22, 2019, after receiving two tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
The investigation revealed evidence that allowed the detective to receive a search warrant for Allen’s home and electronic devices, Murphy reported.
During an interview, Allen admitted to having thousands of images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct on his devices, Murphy said, which computer forensic analysis confirmed, finding more than 265,000 video and image files containing several different kinds of pornography.
Police contacted Allen earlier this month, and he agreed to turn himself in on Thursday, Murphy said.
Whatcom County Superior Court records show Allen was convicted in 1987 on three counts of indecent liberties and one each of sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child pornography.
Allen was sentenced to 41 months in prison — of which he served 25 — along with 24 months probation and treatment for sexual deviancy, court records show. His sentence also prohibited him from contacting the victim or minor females without prior approval of his therapist and probation officer and an order prohibiting him from possessing sexually explicit materials depicting minors.
Allen also had to register as a sex offender until 2003, Murphy reported.
This story was originally published February 13, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
