A 29-year-old Birch Bay woman arrested on one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and two counts of possessing and dealing child sexual abuse material is being held in Whatcom County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail.
Rachel Ann Openshaw Tapia was arrested at her Birch Bay home on January 9 following a multiagency investigation that began in early November 2024.
According to the affidavit of probable caused filed in Whatcom County Superior Court, on November 4, 2024 the messaging app Kik reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a user shared about 13 images and/or videos depicting child sexual abuse.
On December 8, Kik reported to the National Center for Missing Children that a different user had shared five files containing child sexual abuse material. The material was shared from the same IP address as the previous report and both accounts had different email addresses containing Openshaw Tapia’s full name.
On December 12, Bellingham Police Department and Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office detectives who were members of the state’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force were assigned to the investigation, which was given a heightened priority. On January 2, investigators requested Comcast Cable provide information on the IP address. Comcast provided records four days later that showed the IP address associated with Openshaw Tapia’s Birch Bay home.
Investigators served a search warrant at the home on January 9. Openshaw Tapia waived her Miranda rights and admitted to sending photos of young children to a man living out of state, according to court records. Openshaw Tapia told investigators the man expressed sexual interest in children and she wanted to “keep him interested in her sexually.”
Openshaw Tapia told investigators that Kik banned her first account after she sent the child sexual abuse images, so she created the second account that was subsequently banned after she sent the additional material.
Anonymous tips of child sexual abuse material can be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s tipline at cybertipline.com and to the FBI online at tips.fbi.gov.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has resources available for child sexual exploitation survivors and their families at bit.ly/4anORly. The center also operates a 24-hour hotline at 800-843-5678.
Stop It Now! operates a child sexual abuse helpline at stopitnow.org and 888/PREVENT.
Brigid Collins Family Support Center, a Bellingham-based nonprofit working to end child abuse, can be reached at 360/734-4616 and brigidcollins.org.
Lummi Victims of Crime has a 24-hour helpline to support both children and adults at 360/312-2015.
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