Man had 20,000 images of child porn

Sgt. Jerry Baker of the Oak Harbor Police Dept. says investigators found more than 20,000 images of child pornography and more than 200 short clip movies on an Oak Harbor man’s computer.

In addition, the Island County Prosecutor’s Office has increased the number of charges against Philip Poston from six to 44.

The amended charges against Poston, 39, include possession of child pornography, first-degree incest with a deadly weapon enhancement, first-degree rape with a deadly weapon enhancement, indecent liberties, intimidating a witness, unlawful imprisonment, two counts of sexual exploitation, two counts of second-degree rape, two counts of dealing in depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and 31 counts of incest.

Baker said the astonishing volume of pornographic images of children on Poston’s computer is the largest number he’s ever heard of one person having.

“It’s by far the worst I’ve ever seen,” Baker said.

According to Baker, Poston downloaded the images off the Internet, mainly from sites in Russia and Asia.

The affidavit of probable cause said Poston told a detective that some of the children in his pornography were babies and most were under age 12.

According to Oak Harbor Detective Teri Gardner’s report, Poston forced sex on the 20-year-old victim since she was 15 years old. He took sexually explicit photos of her and, after she ran away, threatened to “show them to people in her church” if she didn’t return to him, Gardner wrote.

The report states that the woman was extremely emotional and cried throughout her interview with the police. She told investigators that Poston raped her at knifepoint when she was 15 years old. She said he raped her at gunpoint recently.

The alleged victim also reported that Poston took nude photographs of her and later took photos of the two of them having sex. Poston would force her to look at the photos, the report states.

Poston admitted to investigators that he had sex with the victim, but said it was consensual. He also admitted taking explicit photos of her, court records show.

In addition, Poston is accused of going to the victim’s workplace and threatening her.

Poston is being held in jail on $50,000 bail.

Comment on this story.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.