LYNNWOOD — A suspected computer hacker is under investigation for dealing in child pornography after he reportedly sent out pictures of two topless teenagers that he pilfered from their email accounts.
The women, now 18, told investigators that they’d taken the pictures a couple of years ago. They both reported that their email accounts were hacked and the pictures had been forwarded to everyone in their address books, including relatives, classmates and potential employers.
One woman said her semi-nude picture showed up on her Facebook page after her account was hacked and the password changed. The suspect also posted a link to the photograph on the Facebook page for the Bremerton High School boy’s soccer team, according to police affidavit filed Monday.
“I don’t think we can even imagine,” Bremerton police Sgt. Kevin Crane said of the young women’s embarrassment.
His department investigated one of the complaints in March. The other woman is from Puyallup and reported the incident to police there, Crane said.
Lynnwood police detectives took over the investigation when it was discovered that the suspect, Nicholas Treat, lives at an RV park along Highway 99.
Treat, 20, was in court Monday. The judge found probable cause to hold him for possessing and dealing child pornography because the photos were taken when the women were under 18. At the objection of the prosecutor, the judge agreed to release Treat on his own personal recognizance.
The judge banned Treat from using the Internet. No charges have been filed.
Treat is a convicted sex offender. He’s been registered with Lynnwood police since December, spokeswoman Shannon Sessions said. Details about his out-of-state conviction weren’t available Monday but he’d been categorized at level 1, considered the least likely to reoffend.
The Bremerton woman first complained to police in March. She explained that she’d taken topless pictures of herself when she was 15 or 16 to send her boyfriend. The pictures were still in her email. Treat is accused of hacking into the account and forwarding the pictures to the woman’s relatives, classmates, and everyone else on her contact list.
“They ended up going out to her grandparents and teachers who she had asked for letters of recommendation,” Crane said.
During their investigation, Bremerton police learned of another link that appeared to be connected to the case. That’s when detectives found topless photographs of what appeared to be an underage girl. Detectives learned that the Puyallup woman’s email account had been hacked. She also told investigators that someone had taken over her MySpace page and posted one of the topless pictures on that account. The hacker changed the access to that page so anyone could look at the picture, according to the police affidavit.
Detectives tracked down two email addresses that were used during the hacking. The addresses came back to an account that belonged to a computer or wireless router at a Lynnwood RV park. Detectives learned that the RV park’s managers provide wireless Internet access for the tenants.
One of the victims reported that she knew Treat. She said she received a phone call from him and during their conversation, he apologized for hacking into her account, detectives wrote.
The other woman told police that she has never met Treat, but they were “friends” on Facebook. That gave him access to her age and other personal data that could have aided him in hacking into her accounts, detectives wrote.
Treat was arrested Friday while Lynnwood detectives searched his trailer. Police seized computers and pornography.
He allegedly told detectives that he was responsible for hacking into the email accounts and forwarding the pictures. He said he used his laptop but has since thrown the computer away, according to the affidavit.
Police have worked to educate young people and their parents about Internet crimes, Sessions said.
“The reality is many adults themselves aren’t heeding warnings when it comes to sending inappropriate photos and videos or bullying others via text, email or social networking web sites,” Sessions said. “Users should be aware that everything they send, whether they delete it or not, can be found again and used against them.”
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
Online safety tips
Here are some tips from Lynnwood police about being safe on the Internet:
•Don’t share any of your email or social website passwords with anyone.
Don’t respond to rude or inappropriate email, messages and comments.
Don’t forward any inappropriate email, texts or photos.
Save the evidence, such as email and text messages. Also, take note of the date and time when the harassment occurs.
If harassment is via email, social networking sites, or chat rooms, you may “block” bullies or delete your current account and open a new one.
If harassment is via text and phone messages, change the phone number and only share the new number with trustworthy people. Also, check out phone features that may allow the number to be blocked.
If this involves a child, get their school involved. Learn the school’s policy on cyber bullying and urge administrators to take a stance against all forms of bullying.
Make a report to www.cybertipline.com, and if you feel something illegal has occurred, inform law enforcement.
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