Three elderly Seattle brothers arrested on child pornography charges
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Three Seattle brothers, aged 78 to 82, were arrested Monday for allegedly possessing child pornography to “satiate their deeply rooted deviant interests,” police said.
The brothers' home was jampacked with sexual photos and videos of young girls, children’s toys, girls’ clothing and graphic notes on child sex abuse and homicide, according to police and prosecutors.
The three – Charles Emery, 82; Thomas Emery, 80; and Edwin Emery, 70 – were arrested Monday and charged with two counts of second-degree possession of child pornography.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}They are being held on $500,000 bail, the Seattle Times reported.
Police said Edwin Emery admitted to molesting female family members in the past but there was no immediate evidence of other physical crimes.
According to police, the brothers, who lived in the same home for more than 50 years, spent “a lifetime accumulating” their collection of images and videos.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“The investigation revealed that each of the defendants has a sexual interest in minor children and have shared the majority of their lives sexually abusing children to whom they had access and exploiting children depicted in child pornography,” Cecelia Gregson, senior deputy prosecutor with King County, wrote in the charging papers.
Police said Edwin Emery admitted to molesting female family members in the past. Police said the evidence was uncovered when a family member cleaning the home discovered boxes of obscene material in the garage. The family member is the legal guardian to the oldest brother, Charles Emery, who was recently moved into a senior residential home because of his dementia.
In the boxes, investigators found a large quantity of items including “handwritten notes detailing the kidnapping, torturing, raping and murdering of young girls.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Police said Thomas and Edwin Emery claimed they hadn’t gone into the garage for years and that it had contained “Charles’ hobby.” However, a more than 30-hour search of the brothers’ home uncovered sexual images of children throughout the home.
Investigators also found dozens of pairs of girls’ penny loafers, underwear and toys.
A single-serving vodka bottle and note indicating the alcohol had been given to a child to facilitate the sexual abuse was also found.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The brothers had lived in the home since 1962. They never married or had biological children of their own.
This was not the first time the Emery brothers have been investigated for child pornography.
In 2013, Edwin Emery took his computer to get serviced and staff contacted police after finding sexual images of minors. While he was investigated, charges were no filed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Prosecutors did not indicate why charges weren’t filed at the time, the Seattle Times reported.
The newspaper said investigators are searching additional properties linked to the brothers for “the presence of child exploitation materials and evidence of kidnapping, abuse, and child homicide.”