Son of former Seattle mayor charged in child sexual abuse images case

via seattletimes.com

A 29-year-old son of former Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn is being investigated for allegedly possessing child sexual abuse images.

Jack McGinn was charged Tuesday in King County Superior Court on one count of first-degree dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct and one count of first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

His arrest came last Friday as Seattle police served a search warrant on the family’s home.

When reached by phone Friday morning, Mike McGinn, 64, said he wasn’t at the house and wasn’t aware of the police action. He later texted he has been in Virginia since Christmas and was trying to contact his son. Multiple neighbors said they haven’t seen the former mayor in months.

Mike McGinn did not return a phone call or text message Monday.

Court documents indicate Jack McGinn moved into his parents’ house after his parents moved to the East Coast.

Mayor from 2010 to 2013, Mike McGinn was defeated in his 2013 reelection campaign by then-state Sen. Ed Murray. Most recently, he has worked as executive director of a national nonprofit called America Walks.

In a Friday afternoon blog post, which did not name Jack McGinn, Seattle police wrote that the investigation started with a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

“Hundreds of child sexual abuse material images were distributed,” the department wrote.

The suspect admitted to viewing and possessing the images, the department wrote.