The son of a former Seattle mayor was arrested on Friday morning for alleged possession of images of child sexual abuse according to police in Washington state.
A tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in December led police to search the residence of 29-year-old Jack Francis Lynch McGinn after linking him through an IP address and email addresses.
Investigators said he had downloaded and distributed about 700 images of child sexual exploitation, including some involving children estimated to be as young as 4 or 5 years old.
Court records said that McGinn told investigators he had “downloaded at least a hundred files containing images or videos of underage children involved in sexually explicit conduct” to his desktop, according to the Seattle Times.
McGinn allegedly told police that he knew what he had done was wrong but that he had a cocaine addiction and had downloaded the illegal images after going on weekend “benders.” He denied ever abusing children himself.
He was charged with one count of first-degree dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct and one count of first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Prosecutors asked for $100,000 bail while McGinn’s defense attorney asked that he be released on his own recognizance.
“The basis behind our bail request is that we believe if released Mr. McGinn might commit a violent offense in light of the depraved nature of the depictions which he possessed and accessed,” said deputy prosecuting attorney Jullian Haley to the court.
A judge set the bail at $70,000, and McGinn was able to post it and be released on Saturday.
He was also restricted from possessing devices that could access the internet without monitoring and was also ordered to without exception keep away from all minors, alcohol, and non-prescribed drugs.
McGinn is scheduled for arraignment at the King County Superior Court on April 15. His attorney said in court that he works for a technology installation company and has no prior criminal history.
The suspect’s father, Michael McGinn, is 64 years old and was the mayor of Seattle from 2010 until 2013. He is a Democrat.
Authorities ask that anyone who knows of criminal behavior related to child exploitation to reach the NCMEC cyber-tip line at 1-800-THE-LOST.
Here’s a news report about the incident:
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