TACOMA, WA – Today Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office charged William Everett Duncan with 3 counts of possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Duncan, 76, has a criminal history of abusing children dating back to 1960.
Bail was set at $1,000,000.00.
“Nothing is more important than protecting our children,” said Prosecutor Mark Lindquist. “We charged the defendant with aggravators, and he is facing a possible life sentence.”
On July 13, 2017, one of the residents where the Duncan lived reported he had caught the defendant viewing child pornography one week prior. The resident reported he was worried for the community because Duncan had several alcohol bottles located in his room, and he thought the defendant may be back "in cycle." The resident also told police that the first time he met the defendant, Duncan introduced himself as a "non-practicing pedophile." The images the resident saw depicted children that appeared to be between the ages of 10 to 13 who were completely naked.
Another resident of the house reported that he saw what he believed to be child pornography on the Duncan's computer on multiple occasions. This resident described images of adults with children who were naked and appeared to be between 7-10 years old.
On August 15, 2017, police obtained a warrant to search Duncan’s belongings, including his electronic devices. The warrant was served on August 17, 2017. One item found by law enforcement was a digital camera inside the drawer of the nightstand in the defendant's room.
On the camera, police observed several photos depicting children engaged in sexual situations with other children and with adults. Some of the children appeared to be 3 to 5 years old. The photos on the camera appear to have been taken of other images, possibly screen shots.
Police confiscated several devices from Duncan’s room, including the camera, a computer, several compact discs, five thumb drives, an XBox 360, a hard drive, and a cell phone. All of these items will be forensically processed.
The State gave notice that Duncan may be charged with additional crimes following forensic analysis of these items.
Charges are only allegations and a person is presumed innocent unless he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
For more information, please contact James Lynch at (253) 798-6265, [email protected].