Birch Bay man pleads guilty to child pornography charges

A Birch Bay man who was arrested in November 2021 on suspicion of possessing child pornography pleaded guilty in Whatcom County Superior on June 12.

Jon Thomas Lakey, 48, of Birch Bay, pleaded guilty to two charges of possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct in the first degree. As part of the plea agreement, Lakey had two counts of the same charge dropped. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. July 20.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) received a tip from Apple in October 2019 that a user had uploaded several images of suspected child pornography. HSI searched Lakey’s residence in January 2020 with a federal search warrant and seized multiple items of computer related electronics and media. Approximately 245 child pornography images and videos were found, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children identified child victims in 50 of the images in April 2021, and the evidence was transferred to the Bellingham Police Department (BPD).

BPD officers arrested Lakey on November 3, 2021, and he posted $1,000 bail later that day.