Portland parents linked to sex pics of kids
Mark Hoffman, left, and his wife, Katherine Dawn Hoffman By Associated PressPORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - An investigator calls it one of the most disturbing cases he's seen. A Portland father of three is facing state and federal charges in connection with an international pedophile ring. Mark Hoffman is accused of sexually abusing his children, photographing them in lascivious positions and sharing those photos over the Internet. His wife faces state charges including mistreatment and tampering with evidence for trying to conceal the photos. Two of the children, now ages 4 and 5, are in state foster care. An FBI task force which targets people trafficking in child pornography began the investigation and brought in state and local authorities to assist. A federal grand jury earlier this year indicted Hoffman on charges of sexual exploitation of children and possession of pornography. In U.S. District Court in Portland, he's accused of trafficking via the Internet sexually explicit photos of his young children from January 2006 through Feb. 11, 2008. In state court, he faces 70 sex-related charges stemming from Jan. 1, 2004, including one allegation that he raped one of his children when she was as young as 1 year old. He has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree rape, three counts of first-degree sodomy, three counts of unlawful sexual penetration, 23 counts of first-degree sex abuse, 23 counts of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct and 15 counts of encouraging child sex abuse. Police say his wife, Katherine Dawn Hoffman, 33, learned of the abuse by 2005. In state court, she was indicted on charges of hindering prosecution, tampering with evidence, four counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment and second-degree encouraging child sex abuse. The indictment accuses her of trying to conceal or destroy her husband's sexually explicit photos and computer hard drive, allowing him to continue to care for the children and withholding necessary or adequate physical care from them. On Friday, she pleaded not guilty to the charges during an arraignment in Multnomah County Circuit Court. (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) |
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