Man arrested at border with child porn

By Steve Guntli

Officers from the Washington State Patrol (WSP) arrested a convicted sex offender trying to cross the border into Canada on October 29.

Eric Hilton Kapusy, 51, of Clyde Hill, California, was taken into custody at the Pacific Highway border crossing in Blaine. Kapusy told investigators he was a transient most recently living in Portland, Oregon, but he registered as a sex offender with a Kirkland address one week prior to his arrest.

On October 27, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) found more than 1,000 sexually explicit images of minors on Kapusy’s smartphone and other digital devices during a routine screening of passengers on a Greyhound bus.

Kapusy was denied entry into Canada and handed over to the WSP’s Missing and Exploited Children’s Task Force (MECTF). Investigators obtained a search warrant to  review the digital devices, which led to the referral of charges from the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s Office. Lt. Ron Mead of the WSP investigative assistance division said a forensic investigation is still underway and they have yet to finalize the number of photos. None of the images recovered so far have been videos.

At this time, investigators are still trying to determine where Kapusy boarded the bus and where he was planning to disembark once he reached Canada.

Investigators were alarmed after discovering an Internet search in Kapusy’s phone on how to lure young girls to a hotel. WSP currently has no evidence that Kapusy lured anyone, but MECTF agents are investigating. Kapusy is being held in Whatcom County Jail on a charge of possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

His bail has been set at $100,000. Additional charges may arise as the investigation continues.