A family law attorney who previously practiced in Kent was arrested Tuesday on a federal criminal complaint charging him with receipt and possession of child pornography.
David S. Engle, 49, of Maple Valley, made his initial appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office media release.
Engle came to the attention of law enforcement following the investigation of an international movie production company that operated a website offering DVDs and streaming videos for sale. The materials depicted young boys in sexually explicit activity.
Between 2005 and 2011, investigators allege Engle purchased 78 different items from the website, spending nearly $3,000. Agents with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service executed a search warrant at Engle’s home Tuesday.
The international movie production company was put out of business in May 2011, when agents seized its inventory and records. The company and the owners of the company are being prosecuted for child exploitation offenses, including the production and distribution of child pornography.
Engle remains detained pending a hearing on Friday, Nov. 9.
According to information available on the Internet, Engle is heavily involved in youth baseball, according to the media release. He appears to be (or was) the District 4 commissioner for the Southern Washington Babe Ruth Leagues, the coach for the Mid-Sound Pilots Select Bronco baseball team for 11- and 12-year-olds, the president for Maple Valley Pony Baseball and Fast Pitch, and the assistant to the Mount Rainier Baseball Association’s vice president of Babe Ruth Leagues. Engle also appears to be associated with a business named “5 Star Baseball and Softball.”
Engle is a divorce attorney who has practiced law since 1992 in Washington and whose law license remains active, according to the website www.avvo.com. The site lists a P.O. Box number in Maple Valley as an office for Engle.
If found guilty of receipt of child pornography, Engle faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and up to 20 years and a $250,000 fine.
The case is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marci Ellsworth.
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