Three Bend Men Arrested In Separate Cases Involving Child Sex Abuse Material
- 02/20/26
Incident: Three Bend men arrested in separate cases involving child sex abuse material
Arrested: William James Kanehl, 42-year-old Bend resident
Offenses: Encouraging Child Sex Abuse I x 12, Encouraging Child Sex Abuse II x 13, Using a Child in a Display of Sexually Explicit Conduct x 11, Luring a Minor, Encouraging Sexual Assault of an Animal
Arrested: Evan Matthew Hiatt, 20-year-old Bend resident
Offenses: Encouraging Child Sex Abuse I x10, Encouraging Child Sex Abuse II x10
Arrested: Mitchel Joseph Gregg, 23-year-old Bend resident
Offenses: Encouraging Child Sex Abuse I, Encouraging Child Sex Abuse II
Over the past two months, Bend Police have arrested three Bend men in separate cases that started as CyberTips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Each of these tips is thoroughly investigated and can take months or years because of the complexity of the cases, which often involve multiple search warrants. The Bend Police Department and its detective division investigates every CyberTip it receives and takes all crimes against children seriously.
On Feb. 14, 2025, Bend Police began investigating a CyberTip regarding a local suspect who had uploaded multiple files suspected of containing child sex abuse material (CSAM). That investigation identified the suspect as 42-year-old William James Kanehl, and in August 2025, Bend Police served a search warrant at Kanehl’s home in in the 20700 block of Tango Creek Avenue. During the course of that investigation, detectives found additional evidence of encouraging the sexual assault of an animal as well as evidence he had messaged with a minor and compelled the child to engage in sexually explicit conduct.
On Jan. 28, Bend Police detectives arrested Kanehl on suspicion of multiple counts of first- and second-degree encouraging child sex abuse, using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct, encouraging sexual assault of an animal and luring a minor.
On March 6, 2025, Bend Police began investigating a CyberTip of a local suspect using SnapChat to save, share or upload CSAM. That investigation identified the suspect as Mitchel Joseph Gregg, a 23-year-old Bend resident.
On Feb. 10, Bend Police detectives arrested Gregg at his home in the 2000 block of NE Holliday Avenue on suspicion of one count each of first- and second-degree encouraging child sex abuse.
On May 28, 2025, Bend Police began investigating a CyberTip of a local suspect messaging and soliciting a child for sexually explicit images. That initial tip did not lead to an arrest due to detectives’ inability to verify the victim’s age. However, on Jan. 21, 2026, Bend Police received another CyberTip associated with the same local suspect, this time involving the upload of CSAM images. Detectives identified the suspect as 20-year-old Evan Matthew Hiatt and served a search warrant on Jan. 28 at Hiatt’s residence in the 1300 block of NE Hidden Valley Drive. Hiatt was arrested on suspicion of 10 counts each of first- and second-degree encouraging child sex abuse.
