WA, Iowa Men Arrested in Child Porn Production Sting

A 34-year-old Iowa man and a 57-year-old Richland, WA resident are in jail following their arrests related to a child porn ring.

  The two were arrested September 24th.

The US Attorney's Office for Eastern WA announced this week the two men were  arrested by the  Southeast Regional Internet Crimes Against Children (SER-ICAC) Task Force, and other agencies.

34-year-old Joseph Ralland Whipple, of Mason City Iowa, was arrested on charges of  producing, distributing, receiving, and possessing sexually explicit images of minor children in Tri-Cities, Washington.  His bail was set at one million dollars and his residence in Iowa was raided. Authorities found multiple electronic devices that were seized.

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Also, 57-year-old Charles Lon Seltz of Richland was arrested and is facing a First  Degree Child Rape charge. His bail was also set at one million.  The investigations and arrests stemmed from child exploitation investigations in the Tri-Cities area.

More information is expected to be released soon.