SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane Police discovered far more sinister crimes after a domestic violence call in February, after searching a man’s phone, according to an affidavit of facts filed with the Spokane County Superior Court.
Christopher S. Marsh was arrested Monday afternoon for nearly 30 counts of Child Sex Abuse Material (CSAM).
According to court documents, police first had an encounter with Marsh and his partner on February 8, 2025.
Police said they interviewed the couple over an argument about a television that turned physical, but based on the interviews with Marsh and his partner, the officer couldn’t establish probable cause to determine who the primary aggressor was.
Marsh told the officer he had recorded the altercation on his phone, but refused to show the video, fearing it could look incriminating against him.
The officer seized the phone and had a judge sign off on a search warrant to go through the phone to find video evidence of the altercation.
Once the search warrant was secured, the officer began going through media on the phone, and found evidence of child porn.
According to the affidavit, the officer saw child sex abuse material involving extremely young girls and boys, including a child who was less than a year old at the time, and saw furniture associated with Marsh’s home, indicating the material was made in his house, with kids he had access to.
One of the videos included him coaxing a young toddler to touch him while he masturbated in front of the boy.
Police interviewed Marsh’s partner, who said she babysat several children in her home, who Marsh would’ve had access to.
She told police she had no knowledge of the CSAM on Marsh’s phone, because she wasn’t allowed access to his phone, and didn’t know the password to unlock it.
Police showed screen shots of children to their parents, who they positively identified as their young children in the images on Marsh’s phone.
Detectives discovered he used photos of the young children who were babysat in his home to make Artificial Intelligence-generated (AI) child porn.
In addition to the several young children who lived in Spokane, detectives uncovered other CSAM images and videos of unknown children, as well as internet searches for very specific child and adult porn.
In total, detectives logged 136 videos and 1,139 photos of Depictions of a Minor engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct in the 1st degree; they said they found 33 videos and 2,075 photos of Depictions of a Minor engaged in Sexually Explicit conduct in the 2nd degree, and six more videos involving children that carry felony charges.
Marsh was arrested nearly two months to the day after his phone was seized.
According to court documents, he admitted to using his cell phone to search up child porn for the last 15 to 20 years, and had never deleted it.
In Marsh’s first appearance before Commissioner Eugene Cruz Tuesday afternoon, his bail was set at $1 million.
KXLY contacted Spokane Police to inquire whether there could be more local children who may have been exposed to Marsh regarding CSAM and/or child molestation.
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