SPOKANE — A man accused of raping his daughter and posting videos of the abuse online was arraigned Friday after returning to the United States from Hong Kong.
Kenneth John Freeman, 45, appeared in federal court in Spokane a day after his extradition. He was indicted in January on one count of producing child pornography and one count of transporting child pornography.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Cynthia Imbrogno entered a not guilty plea for Freeman and ordered him held without bond.
Conviction of producing child pornography carries a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence and transporting child pornography a mandatory five-year sentence. Both carry a maximum 20-year term, Imbrogno said.
Freeman also is wanted on federal child pornography charges in Oregon and is accused of child rape and bail-jumping in Washington’s Benton County, state charges related to the alleged attacks on his daughter.
SeaTac: Holiday decor to be nonreligious
Trees, lights and a fake snowbank will be used in a Seattle-Tacoma International Airport winter display designed to be as nonreligious as possible, officials have decided.
Following a flap last year over holiday decorations at the region’s largest airport, “we’re featuring peace and harmony,” said Michael Feldman, airport deputy managing director. “We’re using lights. Winters are so dark and dreary.”
No Santa Claus, Christmas tree, Hanukkah menorah or other religious displays will be allowed, Feldman said.
Instead, airport officials opted for what designer Randy Trostle calls a winterscape created by Displaymaker Productions of Seattle, handcrafted birch trees surrounded by lights in a pseudo-snowbank.
Spokane: Workers trapped in basement
Two Spokane city water department employees were forced to breathe through a crack in the ceiling before they were rescued Friday after a water station valve burst and flooded the basement where they were working.
Assistant Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer says water rose to within 6 inches of the ceiling, and the men had to press themselves against a crack in the ceiling to get air and talk with rescuers.
Other employees used a backhoe to break down outside doors and lower the water level, and firefighters broke down the basement door to reach the trapped men.
The men were taken to a hospital to be treated for effects of the cold water but were later released.
Vancouver, B.C.: Plane hits building
A small plane crashed into the ninth floor of a suburban Vancouver apartment building Friday, killing the pilot and injuring two people in the building.
The two residents of the ninth-floor apartment were taken to a hospital. One of them likely sustained “significant and serious injuries,” said Christy Hillen, a spokeswoman for the B.C. Ambulance Service.
Cpl. Nycki Basra of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the suburb of Richmond said some other people were being treated at the scene but no details were immediately available.
Fire crews evacuated the 15-story building. Only one unit sustained structural damage but no other residents were being allowed back into the building right away, Basra said.
Associated Press
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