Sgt. Jim Hibpshman said troopers seized computer hard drives, video tapes, digital video disks and compact disks. He said troopers viewed thousands of pornographic images. On one hard drive examined, troopers identified at least 543 images of child pornography where the victims were clearly minors, Hibpshman said.
Alaska law defines possession of child pornography as "knowing that the production of the material involved the use of a child under 18 years of age" and where the images depicted show actual or simulated sexual contact or exhibitionism. Possession of child pornography is a class C felony. Each image is a separate count.
"No member of the public wouldn't look at those images and say 'That's a child,'" Hibpshman said.
According to Hibpshman and court documents, troopers began their investigation last Friday after two people reported at 5 p.m. that they saw suspected child pornography on Koen's computer as recently as Feb. 24. One of the complainants told troopers the images were of infants and "some of the children must have been less than 10 months old."
Koen is married and four children live in his home. Hibpshman put Homer and Ninilchik troopers on extended shifts to write up search warrants and investigate the case. Homer Police also assisted.
"Anytime there are children, that's going to increase my concern greatly," he said. "It's one of those things that has to be dealt with has to be stopped as quickly as possible."
Hibpshman said troopers do not believe any of the images they viewed on Koen's computers are of local children.
The mother of the children is not a suspect.
Troopers obtained two search warrants on Friday night and seized personal computers, computer parts, video tapes, DVDs and CDs from Koen's home and outbuildings. Troopers also got an electronic search warrant on Saturday and recorded a phone call between Koen and one of the complainants. In the phone call, troopers said Koen said there was an extremely small chance troopers would not find child pornography on his computer.
"Once the troopers look on my computer, it's like there it is, and all I can do is plead no contest," he is alleged to have said.
Hibpshman said troopers recorded the phone call to establish Koen knew of the child pornography on his computers.
After seizing computers and electronic media, troopers served a warrant on Homer Police Officer Andy Deveaux to legally examine the media. Deveaux is trained in the forensic analysis of computer hard drives.
"Andy Deveaux worked very hard for us," Hibpshman said.
In looking at the first of four drives, Deveaux identified thousands of pornographic images in which victims were suspected to be under age 18, but it was not obvious, said Hibpshman. Deveaux identified hundreds of images showing children in sexually explicit situations, according to the court complaint, and all of the children were obviously under age 18. Some of the children appeared to be under age 10, the complaint said. Three photographs were included in court documents, but were sealed from the public at the request of Trooper Bryan Barlow, who filed the criminal complaint. The images were not available in the public file when it was examined at the Homer District Courthouse on Monday.
Hibpshman said each image of child pornography could be a felony charge.
"That's a lot of charges that are a potential," he said.
Troopers also examined a digital camera and camera images on the computers, but have not yet found any evidence Koen produced child pornography, Hibpshman said. He said digital camera photography and computers make the production and distribution of child pornography easy. Troopers suspect Koen acquired images off the Web, and are analyzing e-mail and other files to determine the source.
Hibpshman said investigation is continuing. They are examining "boxes and boxes" of media, he said. At one point, five troopers scanned video tapes and DVDs playing on different players, skimming through them on fast forward for pornographic images that might be hidden within a tape or DVD.
"Just because something says 'Mickey Mouse' doesn't mean it's Mickey Mouse," Hibpshman said.
Hibpshman said he did not know if any of the children in Koen's house had access to the computers. Troopers suspect and are investigating Koen of other crimes.
"It's very hard for my young troopers. It's hard for me," he said. "I hate these cases more than any other type."
Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong@homernews.com.
We encourage you to add your comments. To prevent spam, comments with links are manually approved during the normal business day. Please be respectful of others with your comments, bear in mind anyone in the community may be reading your comments.
