A 40-year-old man is accused of having pictures of child sex assault. He was a bereavement counselor at the Dougy Center, a nonprofit organization that helps bereaved families and children.
In federal court in Portland, Walter Albert Sebaste entered a not guilty plea on Friday to one count of possession related to a September search of his Portland residence.
Megan Desai, an associate federal public defender, said Sebaste was fired from the Dougy Center after about a month of employment after his employer found out about the FBI search warrant. Desai stated that the state had not discovered any proof linking Sebaste to any wrongdoing at the NGO.
Investigators discovered that Sebaste had downloaded thousands of pictures of child sex abuse, including photographs of children under the age of twelve, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate A. Rochat, who requested a judge to hold Sebaste in custody pending trial.
According to her, FBI investigators are currently looking through ten of Sebaste’s computer devices but have not yet discovered any proof that he engaged in physical child sex abuse.
Rochat claimed that Sebaste was committing crimes against children behind closed doors even though he presented himself as someone who could be relied upon to help and protect kids.
Sebaste only began sex offender treatment after the FBI searched his house, according to the prosecution.
She read a passage from a letter his licensed sex offender treatment counselor had sent to the court: He recognized he had a problem, but he was afraid of the repercussions, so he kept quiet, kept using illicit resources, and promised himself he would carry that secret to the grave.
Desai admitted that her client’s decision to seek therapy was influenced by the FBI’s search order for Sebaste’s house. Desai informed the judge that he continues to participate in personal therapy sessions, treatment, and support groups.
Desai stated that he had been doing quite well since he was forced to acknowledge that he had a problem and required real treatment.
According to her, Sebaste lives with his wife and has no past criminal history.
Sebaste’s release was approved by U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Armistead, who expressed confidence that pretrial supervision personnel could properly keep an eye on him while he was not in detention.
On Friday, Sebaste was scheduled to be freed from detention with a curfew, a GPS monitor, and computer monitoring software installed on any phones or electronic devices he still possesses.
Additionally, he was told not to interact with children or go to places where kids gather without permission.
A request seeking comment on Sebaste was not immediately answered by Dougy Center officials.
— Maxine Bernstein writes about criminal justice and federal courts. You can contact her via [email protected], 503-221-8212, X@maxoregonian, or LinkedIn.
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