Man Used 1-Year-Old Stepdaughter to Produce Child Porn, Say Feds

Federal authorities arrested an Oregon man after he allegedly used his 1-year-old stepdaughter to make child porn images he distributed on Kik, a private messaging app.

Following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, Oregon State Police officers arrested Kelly Shane Rice, 29. He now faces multiple child pornography charges, the KVAL CBS13 reported. The two law enforcement agencies obtained a search warrant and entered Rice’s home where they said they discovered images of child porn on his cell phone.

Rice faces charges of Using Child in Display of Sexually Explicit Conduct; Sex Abuse I; Unlawful Sexual Penetration I; and Encouraging Child Sex Abuse I, the CBS affiliate reported.

Officials say Rice produced at least one of the child porn images in his home. Other evidence suggests he uploaded child porn images from his home.

Rice used the social media private messaging app, Kik, to upload some of the images, the Daily Mail reported.

After federal authorities found the images on Kik and began the difficult task of tracking the images back to Rice. Kik promotes the anonymity of its users as a private messaging platform. It does not require a phone number when users sign up for the app. This makes tracking criminal behavior more difficult for law enforcement investigators, the news outlet reports.

Kik is used by about 240 million users, according to the company’s founder and CEO, Ted Livingston. He said his company maintains data for 90 days, pending a valid order from law enforcement.

The Daily Mail article lists numerous incidents where criminals have used Kik for the distribution of child porn in the past. In one case, authorities arrested an Obama-era Secret Service agent who allegedly contacted an undercover police officer posing as a 14-year-old girl. He reportedly admitted to sending obscene pictures and messages to at least two other underage girls.