Bellevue man posts bail after police find child porn cache dating back to 1970s

A welfare check led Bellevue officers to a cache of child pornography.

Police were asked to do a welfare check on Richard Rowlett, 78, at his home. When police were finally able to contact Rowlett, they could see, in plain sight, many images of children engaged in child sexual abuse.

When they asked Rowlett, he allegedly told them he possessed large quantities of explicit material, both at his home and at a storage facility that he’s been collecting since the 1970s, tens of thousands of images. But Rowlett insisted he never acted on his fantasies, and he’s not a threat to anyone.

Rowlett was immediately placed into custody and booked into the King County Jail on two felony charges.

“One for possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and another for viewing those depictions,” Douglas Wagoner, spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, said.

Bellevue police seek potential Rowlett victims

Police want to know if Rowlett ever harmed any children. They ask anyone who thinks they may have been harmed, or if they know someone who might have been harmed by Rowlett, to call 911.

“The age of this individual, I think, is older than maybe we typically see. I certainly can’t remember someone of a similar age,” Wagoner said.

Rowlett is out of jail after posting $20,000 bail.

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