A25-17617 CSAM Arrest (Photo)
- 09/24/25
PRESS RELEASE
A25-17617 – CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE MATERIAL (CSAM) ARREST
SEPTEMBER 24, 2025
On July 22nd, 2025, Detectives with the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office received multiple referrals from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) reporting incidents related to the trafficking of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).
The information came from Electronic Service Providers, Cloud Storage Providers, and Messaging and Chat Apps, which reported multiple images with hash matches to known CSAM being sent, received, and stored by accounts linked to a Kalama, Washington resident. Hash matching is a digital process where a unique "hash" is generated for a digital file using a hash function. This hash is then compared against a database of known hashes. Hash matching confirmed these files were identical to content previously identified as CSAM.
Detectives used search warrants and subpoenas to confirm the association of these accounts to 41-year-old Thomas George Jude of Kalama. Within the information provided by these companies, detectives located CSAM and videos that appeared to be surreptitiously recorded using hidden cameras at a residence. On September 24, 2025, detectives contacted and arrested Jude and served a search warrant on his residence. Phones, a laptop computer, and small surveillance cameras were seized for further examination.
Jude was booked into the Cowlitz County Jail on charges of Dealing in Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct, Possession of Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct, and Voyeurism.
All victims related to Voyeurism charges have been identified. Detectives are requesting the media respect the victims’ privacy at this time.
A25-17617 CSAM Arrest (Photo)
- 09/24/25
PRESS RELEASE
A25-17617 – CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE MATERIAL (CSAM) ARREST
SEPTEMBER 24, 2025
On July 22nd, 2025, Detectives with the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office received multiple referrals from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) reporting incidents related to the trafficking of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).
The information came from Electronic Service Providers, Cloud Storage Providers, and Messaging and Chat Apps, which reported multiple images with hash matches to known CSAM being sent, received, and stored by accounts linked to a Kalama, Washington resident. Hash matching is a digital process where a unique "hash" is generated for a digital file using a hash function. This hash is then compared against a database of known hashes. Hash matching confirmed these files were identical to content previously identified as CSAM.
Detectives used search warrants and subpoenas to confirm the association of these accounts to 41-year-old Thomas George Jude of Kalama. Within the information provided by these companies, detectives located CSAM and videos that appeared to be surreptitiously recorded using hidden cameras at a residence. On September 24, 2025, detectives contacted and arrested Jude and served a search warrant on his residence. Phones, a laptop computer, and small surveillance cameras were seized for further examination.
Jude was booked into the Cowlitz County Jail on charges of Dealing in Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct, Possession of Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct, and Voyeurism.
All victims related to Voyeurism charges have been identified. Detectives are requesting the media respect the victims’ privacy at this time.