Moses Lake man convicted in child pornography case

MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake man was convicted last week of possessing child pornography, according to a statement from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.

Michael Boyer, 69, was convicted in Grant County Superior Court on four counts of first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to the GCSO statement.

In September 2023, GCSO and Moses Lake Police Department detectives received a case referral from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Seattle. The tip was from Google, identifying Boyer as the suspect, along with his birthdate, phone number and two email addresses.

“The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is a national network of 61 task forces, and their mission is to investigate, prosecute and develop effective responses to the Internet Crimes Against Children,” GCSO Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman said.

The sheriff’s office took on the investigation and executed a search warrant at his residence in March 2024, Foreman said. Boyer was taken into custody after deputies found a long list of evidence and inappropriate material on computers.

During the investigation, detectives found that one of the IP addresses connected to Boyer had uploaded over 100 video files containing child sexual abuse material, according to GCSO.

Boyer remains in the Grant County Jail awaiting sentencing in October.

Foreman said if people are suspicious of similar behaviors from other individuals, they should reach out to their local law enforcement agency or to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

“If someone notices the behavior, such as inappropriate material on their phone, inappropriate material on their desktop computer (they should contact authorities),” Foreman said. “In some cases, there are concerns that someone might be photographing children playing. Anything that seems suspicious, we’ll come take a look at it, and we’ll be able to decide whether there’s something going on.”