Former youth group volunteer arrested on child pornography charges

A Vancouver man who was active in his local church group and enrolled in courses to become a child sex abuse counselor was arrested Tuesday on federal child pornography charges.

Bradley J. Gilliam, 24, was charged in U.S. District Court with allegedly possessing, receiving and distributing child porn, according to a news release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He made his first court appearance Wednesday.

Gilliam allegedly shared illicit images of children, including toddlers, on an Internet file sharing network under the username “Bllover69,” the release said. Investigators traced the Internet messages back to Gilliam’s Vancouver home.

Homeland Security special agents and Vancouver police executed a search warrant at Gilliam’s home last summer, seizing a laptop and digital storage device. The equipment contained a library of images and video files of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, the release said.

Investigators learned Gilliam volunteered with a youth group at Grace Foursquare Church in Camas and was enrolled in courses to become a child sex abuse counselor. After church officials learned of the investigation, they immediately suspended him from participating in youth activities.

In August 2003, when Gilliam was 15, Camas police investigated allegations that he raped his

neighbor, an 8-year-old boy, according to court documents. The case was referred for prosecution, but it was not pursued at the request of the alleged victim’s parents.

Gilliam is being held at the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac. His detention hearing is scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday in Tacoma.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Vancouver Police Department, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and the Seattle Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force are investigating the case.

Anyone with information on this child exploitation investigation can call Homeland Security at 360-693-7712.

Patty Hastings: 360-735-4513; twitter.com/col_cops; patty.hastings@columbian.com.