Cloverdale man arrested on charges of possessing child pornography
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ ) – A 72-year-old Cloverdale-area resident has been arrested on numerous charges for allegedly possessing dozens of child pornography photos, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said Friday.
Redmond police took a report last month on possession of child pornography, sheriff’s Sgt. Jayson Janes said. During their investigation, they sought and received a search warrant for a computer belonging to peter Hiatt.
Once it was determined the crimes allegedly were committed in the sheriff’s office jurisdiction, the case was forwarded to sheriff’s office detectives, Janes said.
A DCSO digital forensic detective examined the computer and found numerous photos of child sex abuse, the sergeant said. A total of 59 photos were known to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The victims in those photos have been identified, contacted and confirmed to be children at the time the photos were taken. The other photos were recognized by NCMEC, but the victims in those photos have not yet been identified, Janes said.
On Thursday, detectives spoke with and ultimately arrested Peter Hiatt, who was taken to the county jail and booked on 59 first-degree counts and 10 second-degree counts of encouraging child sex abuse.
The district attorney's office filed an initial set of 20 charges, court records show. Hiatt made an initial court appearance on Friday and is due back in court in a week for arraignment on an expected formal indictment.
