Full Notification

UPDATE: Warden man arrested on federal child porn charges

Contact Chief Rick Martin
Warden Police Dept.
509-793-1300
[email protected]

WARDEN, Wash. (20SEPT2018) -- Warden Police on Wednesday arrested Michael Leavitt of Warden on a federal warrant for Receipt of Child Pornography and Possession of Child Pornography. Leavitt was then turned over to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The charges stem from an investigation which started earlier in 2018 where Leavitt was arrested by Warden Police for voyeurism. The FBI’s subsequent investigation uncovered that Leavitt received child porn 2009, and that he possessed child porn in 2018.

The original news release for that arrest is posted below.

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WARDEN, Wash. (29MAR2018) – A 53-year-old Warden man who served as a substitute teacher at Warden Schools is under arrest this morning for voyeurism and FBI agents are looking into his involvement in child pornography.

Warden Police and the FBI assisted by undercover INET detectives served a search warrant this morning at 609 South Ash Street, Warden, and arrested Michael S. Leavitt.

The investigation started in October 2017 when police received a complaint from a nine-year-old Warden school student that Leavitt, then an emergency substitute teacher, had used his phone to video record under her dress in her classroom. Police seized Leavitt’s phone and a subsequent search warrant and forensic investigation yielded evidence that Leavitt had viewed child porn on his phone, and evidence that Leavitt had deleted files from his phone.

The Warden Police Department is a member of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force based out of the Seattle Police Department. As such, Moses Lake Police Detective Sergeant Brian Jones and Richland Police Detective Daryl Judge provided technical advice to the Warden Police Department, and a second search warrant was obtained to examine Leavitt’s iCloud account.

The iCloud account confirmed the nine-year-old victim’s statement and videos depicting voyeurism were obtained. A recording of a second victim in the same classroom was also discovered.

As the investigation became more involved, the Warden Police Department requested the assistance of Special Agent McEuen from the FBI’s Spokane Field Office. Special Agent McEuen obtained a Federal Warrant to search Leavitt’s home for additional child pornography. The FBI is now investigating possible possession and production of child porn by Leavitt.

Leavitt was booked by the Warden Police Department for the initial charge of voyeurism. The investigation continues.

Anyone who may have information about this case is asked to contact the Warden Police Department at 509-762-1160.

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