OPD arrest Graham man on child pornography tip

Olney police arrested a 54-year-old Graham man on Wednesday afternoon following a tip from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children that he possessed and intended to distribute child pornography, Police Chief Dan Birbeck said.

William Michael Bahl II was arrested on four separate warrants – three for possessing child pornography and one for intent to distribute it – at his Olney employer, Chief Birbeck said.

He was held in Young County Jail but was released a short time later in lieu of $600,000 bond, jail records show.

After receiving the tip, Olney Police Detective Autumn Thames tracked the IP addresses in Olney to a phone that belonged to Mr. Bahl, Chief Birbeck said.

“A search warrant was issued for the suspect’s house last week in Graham where electronic devices were seized and subsequently searched, leading to the discovery of criminal activity associated with child pornography,” he said. “As a result, a warrant was issued for his arrest.”

The case is still under investigation, he said.

According to a police affidavit, OPD received two tips about an unknown user in the Olney area who had sent child pornography to other users on the social media app Kik Messenger.

The address had been used to send “four videos of child pornography and/or bestiality to another Kik user,” the affidavit said.

Police served a warrant at Mr. Bahl’s home on Nov. 12 and took away his cell phone and “various electronics,” the affidavit said.

A search of the devices yielded videos and images showing sex acts involving children under age 18, the affidavit said.