Ex-cop now charged with child porn possession

A Sammamish resident and disgraced former California police officer has been charged with possession of child porn.

According to charging documents, Joseph P. Padgett's estranged wife told police she found a large cache of child pornography while cleaning out a gun safe in their Sammamish home.

Writing the court, a King County detective described a disturbing trove of images found on five computers and four external hard drives found inside the safe.

Searching the devices, investigators found "hundreds of images of obviously underage girls posed provocatively, in lingerie or naked," the detective said in court documents. Other images showed children -- one thought to be a 4-year-old -- having sexual contact with adult men.

Speaking with police in November, Padgett's estranged wife told investigators she'd opened the safe in July and found child pornography, according to charging documents. She notified the Sheriff's Department and, on Nov. 11, detectives seized the materials.

In his statement to the court, the detective said several photos of Padgett, 48, were found on the devices. The detective also noted that several photos of Padgett and two girls were particularly concerning.

"While the pictures are not criminal, they are alarming to look at," the detective told the court. "The way Joseph is embracing the girls suggest(s) a high degree of intimacy and that he has a sexual interest in them.

"The images of Joseph with the girls that have been (manipulated with Photoshop) to give the girls large adult female breasts also confirm his sexual interest in them."

Federal court records show Padgett was previously involved in a land-use lawsuit that garnered some national attention against the City Of Monte Sereno, Calif. The city has since appealed a ruling in Padgett's favor, which saw him awarded $600,000 in fees and costs.

Asking that Padgett be held on $75,000 bail, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Corinn Bohn said Padgett's actions "cause concern for the safety of children within the community."

"The defendant has no permanent address and describes himself as a transient living out of his car," Bohn told the court. "The defendant is known to possess firearms and is former California law enforcement."

According to San Jose Mercury News reports from the time, Padgett -- identified there as Joseph Padgett III -- was forced to resign from the San Jose police department after he was caught in 1993 secretly videotaping himself during sex with three women. Padgett, according to the report, was convicted on five misdemeanor counts.

During the police search of Padgett's Sammamish home late last year, officers found similar videos along with the child pornography, the King County detective told the court. Investigators also recovered "dozens, if not hundreds" of Padgett posing alone in the nude.

Charged with a single count of possessing child pornography, Padgett remains jailed on $75,000 bail.