Blaine man pleads not guilty to 10 felonies related to child pornography
A Blaine man pleaded not guilty to 10 felonies related to the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material Friday, May 23 in Whatcom County Superior Court.
Thomas Ryan Sullivan, 33, was arrested May 15, more than a year after a friend called 911 to report that Sullivan had given him hard drives containing child pornography.
According to court records, Sullivan went to his friend’s house in Whatcom County to “hang out” on April 17, 2024. He brought two hard drives and a flash drive with him, which he lent to the friend before leaving early the next morning.
He said the hard drives had TV shows and video games on them, and that the flash drive contained pornography. His friend told police that it was common for the two of them to swap media and video games on hard drives.
The friend plugged the flash drive into his computer after Sullivan left. He said he didn’t expect the files to contain child sexual abuse material, and was “shocked” to discover the contents. He closed the files and called police, court records state.
The flash and hard drives were given to a local U.S. Homeland Security Investigations office one month later. Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Deb Slater said they were determined to contain more than 3500 images and 170 videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit content. A search of Sullivan’s desktop computer showed recently accessed files and thumbnail images of child sexual abuse material videos.
Slater said Sullivan has no known association with minors, and none of the child sexual abuse material depicted local minors.
Sullivan was charged with five counts of dealing in depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit content and five counts of possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit content. A status hearing is scheduled for next month.
Resources
▪ Brigid Collins Family Support Center: 360-734-4616, brigidcollins.org Brigid Collins Family Support Center professionals are on call between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday through Friday to answer questions about children, families, abuse prevention or treatment at 360-734-4616.
▪ Child Protective Services: Washington state hot line for reporting child abuse and neglect, 866-829-2153.
▪ Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services: 24-hour Help Line: 360-715-1563, Email: info@dvsas.org.
▪ Lummi Victims of Crime: 360-312-2015.
▪ Tl’ils Ta’á’altha Victims of Crime: 360-325-3310 or nooksacktribe.org/departments/youth-family-services/tlils-taaaltha-victims-of-crime-program
▪ Bellingham Police: You can call anonymously at 360-778-8611, or go online at cob.org/tips.
▪ WWU Consultation and Sexual Assault Support Survivor Advocacy Services: 360-650-3700 or wp.wwu.edu/sexualviolence. If you or a child is in immediate danger, call 911 and make a report to law enforcement. To report child abuse or neglect call 1-866-END HARM.
▪ NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Whatcom: www.namiwhatcom.org/crisis-resources.html
▪ Washington State Crisis Line/National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or text HOME to 741741 for a crisis counselor
▪ Whatcom County Triage Center Crisis Line: 800-584-3578