A Canton Township man is facing multiple federal criminal charges of sexually exploiting children, child pornography and producing sexually explicit material of minors for import into the United States.
In a federal criminal complaint filed last week, Charles Calahan Lowe, 49, is charged with exchanging1,600 messages and joining 177 Skype calls with a child sex trafficker in the Philippines who sells sexually abusive webcam sessions involving children. According to the indictment, Lowe paid for the child pornography with wire transfers he obtained at Rite Aid in an effort to hide his actions from his wife.
The charges result from an investigation by Department of Homeland Security agents of webcam exchanges between sellers of video material featuring the sexual abuse and exploitation of children to paying customers. Authorities said purchasers of the videos could then request specific sexually abusive acts involving children during private webcam exchanges. The seller in the investigation of Lowe's involvement was a woman based in the Philippines, according to the court documents. She was selling sexually abusive videos using Skype.
Federal agents executed a search warrant for the Skype account the trafficker was using and determined that one user of the site was an account linked to Lowe. Agents discovered 1,608 messages exchanged between the trafficker and Lowe. She has been arrested, according to court filings, on suspicion of producing and distributing sexually abusive material involving children.
From April 28, 2018 until Dec. 21, 2019, Lowe and the trafficker also exchanged 177 Skype calls. Federal prosecutors allege that during the same period, the trafficker sent 29 sexually explicit videos and photos to Lowe. According to the indictment, Lowe told the trafficker he wanted to see her 3-year-old daughter in the webcam calls and sent several sexually explicit and graphic messages about the child which are now evidence in the criminal complaint. Records from Western Union demonstrate the wire payments to an address in the Philippines sent from an email address associated with Lowe's Skype account.
Lowe's Canton home was searched April 20 and agents seized multiple electronic devices. Agents discovered a sexually abusive video of a 12-14-year-old girl on his phone, according to the complaint. Lowe is charged with sexual exploitation of a child; sexual exploitation of a child outside the United States; attempt and conspiracy to sexually exploit a child; receiving/distributing/possessing child pornography; online enticement of a child to engage in sexual activity; production of sexually explicit depictions of a minor for importation to the United States and attempt and conspiracy to produce sexually explicit depictions of a minor for importation to the United States.
