Pierce Co. man charged in Thurston Co. for possessing child sexual abuse images
A 22-year-old man has been charged with possessing child sexual abuse images in Thurston County Superior Court.
Thurston County deputies arrested Charles Robert King at a Pierce County residence on April 8. Since then, King has been held in the Thurston County jail without bail, according to the jail roster.
His arrest followed a multi-jurisdictional investigation that began with a 2024 tip from Kik, a messaging app, court records show. The Seattle Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force started the investigation before learning King resided in rural Thurston County near Clear Lake. ICAC handed off the case to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office in 2025. Detectives later learned King moved to a Pierce County home, leading them to serve a warrant there but still pursue the case in Thurston County.
Detectives arrested King “without incident” and “seized numerous items of electronic evidence” with help from a Naval Criminal Investigative Service K9 unit, Sheriff Derek Sanders shared on Facebook on April 9.
“Detectives obtained a confession from the suspect, which uncovered the potential of additional child victims of sexual assault,” Sanders said in his post. “The suspect was booked into TCSO jail for numerous child sex crimes. While additional investigation is ongoing, our detectives continue to display a high degree of competence, capability, and compassion in their investigations regarding heinous crimes against children.”
On April 13, Thurston County prosecutors charged King with four counts of first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He pleaded not guilty at an April 15 arraignment hearing.
He has not been charged for any allegations of sexual assault.
The Olympian has asked his attorney to comment on the allegations.
The Sheriff’s Office will offer victims and their guardians support through Monarch Children’s Justice and Advocacy Center, Sanders said.
The Investigation
A probable cause statement describes the investigation from the perspective of law enforcement. The following is a summary of that statement.
Kik first tipped the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children on Sept. 25, 2024. The tip indicated a user had uploaded files of suspected child sexual abuse images to the platform on or around Sept. 14, 2024. The tip included the user’s email address, user name and IP address.
A detective at the Seattle ICAC task force reviewed a file associated with the tip and allegedly observed an image that showed child sexual abuse involving a toddler.
On March 13, 2025, the detective obtained a search warrant for Google and Kik. Google allegedly identified King as the person associated with the email address. Kik sent the detective chat logs and images allegedly sent by King to other Kik users.
The probable cause statement alleges King described a desire to commit child sexual abuse in at least three instances among more than 10,400 messages.
Detectives first believed King resided in Pierce County but later learned he moved to an address near Clear Lake in southeast Thurston County as of July 2025.
A Thurston County Sheriff’s Office detective took on the case and reviewed the evidence. Among the evidence were allegedly three other images of sexual abuse involving children estimated to be 2–4 years old, 3–4 years old and 4–5 years old.
On April 7, 2026, the detective contacted King’s Thurston County roommate and learned he had moved to a home in Pierce County. The next day, detectives served a warrant at the Pierce County home and detained King.
King agreed to speak with detectives, according to the statement. When asked why he thought he was being investigated, he allegedly said, “my only guess is like, I used to be a furry.”
King allegedly explained that he left the “furry community” about six months prior because he “didn’t like weirdos” and did not want to be associated with them. He allegedly said he often communicated with people who shared unusual sexual desires and explicit material.
When questioned about the child sexual abuse images, King allegedly said he was “rough in his teenage years” and admitted to needing help.
