Former resident of McNeil Island Special Commitment Center indicted for receipt and possession of images of child sexual abuse

Press Release

Defendant sought out teen boys and traded sexually explicit photos

Seattle - A 71-year-old Skagit County man was indicted this week by the federal grand jury for receipt and possession of images of child sexual abuse, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Alan Lewis Meirhofer was originally charged in state court after a teen boy saw images of child sexual abuse on a phone he borrowed from Meirhofer. The teen gave the phone to his mother, who called police.

According to the criminal complaint filed in the case, Meirhofer allegedly befriended teen boys in the Skagit County area by inviting them to hang out at his residence, where he provided them "gifts' such as food, clothing, alcohol, cash, and marijuana. When one of the boys borrowed the phone, he noticed that Meirhofer had sent members of a group chat, images of his friends. The teen also saw images of child sexual abuse on the phone. Meirhofer was arrested in March 2021 and his electronic devices were seized.

The FBI asked the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, (NCMEC) for any cyber tips associated with internet accounts linked to Meirhofer. There were more than a dozen reports of images of child sexual abuse linked to accounts controlled by Meirhofer. On July 17, 2024, Meirhofer was taken into federal custody.

Due to prior convictions, Meirhofer faces increased penalties if convicted. In 1988 Meirhofer was convicted of burglary, kidnapping and rape. In 1990, Meirhofer was convicted of Burglary in the First Degree While Armed with a Deadly Weapon and Assault in the Second Degree. Meirhofer was civilly committed to the sexually violent predator Civil Commitment Center on McNeil Island. He was released in 2017 as a registered sex offender level 3, the level with the highest risk of reoffending.

If convicted Meirhofer faces a mandatory minimum 15 years in prison and up to 20 years in prison.

The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

The case is being investigated by the FBI, the Skagit County Sheriff's Office, and the Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson.

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Updated August 7, 2024