Registered sex offender indicted for child sex abuse images

KING COUNTY, Wash. - A federal grand jury indicted a 52-year-old registered sex offender from Des Moines on allegations of possessing images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman announced Thursday.

Edward James Creed, previously convicted of child rape in Kitsap County, was under the supervision of the Washington State Department of Corrections when authorities discovered unapproved electronic devices in his home and child abuse images on his phone.

Due to his prior convictions, Creed faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years if he is found guilty of the current charges. His arraignment is scheduled for next week.

Court documents convey that Creed had been convicted in 2008 for the rape of a child in Kitsap County, serving almost a decade in state prison before his release in 2017. He briefly returned to custody in 2019. It was during a community corrections phone check in March 2024, that images of child sexual abuse were found.

A subsequent search of his living quarters within a sex offender residence led to the discovery of several unapproved electronic devices, which are presently undergoing forensic evaluation.

The ongoing investigation is a collaborative effort between Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) and the Washington State Department of Corrections. Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson is handling the prosecution.