Washington County Sheriff's Office Civilian Employee Accused of Enticing a Minor Online and Distributing Child Pornography

PORTLAND, Ore. – A criminal complaint was unsealed today in federal court alleging Luke De Roy Krieger, 39, of Camas, Washington, engaged in the coercion and enticement of a minor and distributed child pornography.

As alleged in the criminal complaint, on approximately August 14, 2018, undercover officers from the United Kingdom (UK) Police Eastern Regional Special Operations Unit contacted Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) London, England, office requesting assistance regarding a mobile app user who had engaged them in sexualized chat regarding young children. The user, later identified as Krieger, discussed his sexual interest in children and talked about traveling to the UK to engage in sexual activity with the undercover officer’s minor daughter.

Working with the mobile app maker and Frontier Communications, investigators were able to locate two IP addresses Krieger used to conduct the illicit communication. One IP address was associated with a residential internet account for Krieger’s home in Camas. The second was linked to a business internet account registered to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Hillsboro, Oregon, where Krieger is employed as a non-sworn Information Systems Analyst.

Investigators continued communicating with Krieger via the mobile app, posing both as an adult male residing in Boise, Idaho, and as a 13-year-old female the adult male was supposedly living with and sexually abusing. Krieger revealed having sexual fantasies about several minor females, including children who he had come into contact with regularly. He also shared his desire to use a spy cam to take voyeuristic photos and videos of minor girls in a state of undress.

Krieger repeatedly requested and sent photos of child pornography to the undercover officers and, on at least one occasion, a nude photo of himself from the neck down. In response to repeated statements by both the undercover adult and minor, Krieger confirmed that he was aware of the minor’s age. Eventually, the undercover adult invited Krieger to travel to Boise for the purpose of having sex with the undercover minor. Krieger was arrested without incident on December 18, 2018, in Hillsboro before attempting to travel out of state.

Krieger made an initial appearance today in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Youlee Yim You. He will remain in custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for December 21, 2018.

A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by HSI and the Vancouver, Washington Police Department’s Digital Evidence Gathering Unit. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office has fully supported and cooperated with the investigation.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.