Seattle-area child pornographer rigged bathroom with cameras Des Moines man threatened to ‘destroy everyone’s life’ after bust

Photo: U.S. District Court, Seattle Robert D. Thorson, 58, of Des Moines, Wash., was convicted Monday...

A Des Moines man caught sexually exploiting three children has been convicted on federal child pornography production charges.

Indicted in October, Robert D. Thorson was convicted Monday on child pornography production charges following a jury trial in U.S. District Court at Seattle. Thorson, 58, had been charged with child molestation following his arrest in May.

Thorson was found out after a woman discovered an incriminating video on his phone. He had molested a young child known to him while capturing that abuse on a cell phone.

The woman went to police in May after discovering that video. Investigators later found recordings Thorson made using hidden cameras placed in his bathroom. Thorson’s tattooed arm was visible in the recordings, which showed two children naked.

Detectives determined Thorson exploited three children, rubbing his penis on one while she slept. He also amassed a collection of child pornography from the internet.

Following his arrest, Thorson is believed to have sent an 8-page letter to the woman who reported him to police. In it, he demanded she contact his public defender, recant her statements and claim the videos were forgeries.

“We need to rein this whole thing back in a little and think of all the people who would get hurt when all this can be avoided by 30 minutes of your time,” Thorson wrote in a letter from King County Jail.

“Make the call. No one has been hurt yet. … I hope you get this and I don’t destroy everyone’s life because you didn’t get it.”

Jailed since his arrest, Thorson vigorously fought the allegations. He took the stand in his on defense on Monday, to no avail.

Prior to trial, Thorson vigorously fought efforts by investigators to photograph his genitals in order to compare them to images he took during a sexual assault on a sleeping girl.

Thorson, who was convicted of production and possession of child pornography, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced March 12 by U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez.

Seattlepi.com reporter Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com. Follow Levi on Twitter at twitter.com/levipulk.