Bellingham man arrested for allegedly having child pornography on his phone
Bellingham police arrested a Bellingham man for alleged possession of child pornography on Friday, Oct. 21, according to Whatcom County Jail booking records.
Richard W. Wilke, 57, remained in Whatcom County Jail on Tuesday, Oct. 25, on charges of possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. His bail is listed as $25,000 or $2,500 cash bail on the jail log.
An acquaintance of Wilke’s contacted police and gave them his phone, according to the police probable cause affidavit filed in Whatcom County Superior Court.
She told police he was following multiple Facebook groups depicting boys 10-12 years old in their underwear. After going through his phone, with his permission, she found multiple graphic videos featuring boys in the same age range, according to court documents.
Police put the phone in airplane mode so it could not be accessed remotely as they investigated. When Wilke returned home, he admitted to having photos of boys in their underwear, but said there were no depictions of minors in sexual situations, according to court documents.
He unlocked his phone for police, who found photos of naked children, as well as a pornographic video of a minor, according to the affidavit.
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