Pornography Seized in Raid; Man Arrested : Crime: Sexually explicit materials featuring children is held as evidence. Tustin resident could face felony charges.
TUSTIN — Police raided the apartment Friday of a man they described as a child pornography “kingpin,†seizing hundreds of videotapes of children, some of whom may be from Orange County, investigators said.
Timothy Franklin Starcher, 30, was arrested at his apartment in the 15000 block of Tustin Village Way by Orange County Sheriff’s deputies and Tustin police officers. Among the material seized were thousands of slides of boys, 20 videotapes and nine boxes of magazines and reel-to-reel film.
“This is more than what I expected,†said Mark Simon, an investigator for the sheriff’s sex crimes unit. “I have never seen this much. This is not real common. There aren’t a lot of people around with this extensive a collection.â€
Sheriff’s Lt. Dan Martini said the seizure “indicates to us that he’s in the business. . . . It indicates he has been doing this for a long period of time. And why we are interested in this guy is because we know he has victims. And that’s our goal, to find the victims.â€
After the arrest, neighbors told police that they often have seen children coming and going from the man’s one-bedroom apartment, Martini said.
Neighbors said there was “a real trafficking in kids, including two under the age of 12 who frequent the apartment,†he said.
Simon said authorities believe Starcher sold the sexually explicit materials in person from his apartment. In that way, Simon said, Starcher did not risk involving federal authorities by using the mail.
Typically, customers contacted Starcher in person or by phone and told him what materials they wanted, Simon said. Later, they came by and picked up the tapes or photographs, he said. It also appeared to police that Starcher was producing videos by cutting up reel-to-reel films and transferring them frame-by-frame to tape, Simon said.
Normally, tapes running 120 minutes sold for $100, 90-minute tapes for $75, he said.
“It’s a seller’s market,†Simon said. “They can ask whatever they want. Some people have paid $500 to $600 for a video.â€
Starcher was arrested without incident on suspicion of possession of child pornography with intent to sell, a felony, and taken to the Orange County Jail. Starcher was convicted in 1984 of indecent exposure, authorities said.
Police said that earlier Friday, acting on an anonymous tip phoned in weeks ago, officers served a search warrant on a Laguna Niguel apartment. A single tape found there depicted sex acts between youths whose ages were estimated at 10 to 15 years, Simon said. The resident of the apartment is under investigation for possession of child pornography.
Written material found in the apartment led them to the Tustin apartment.
Police said it will take some time to go through the material. Officers will try to identify the children.
Martini said that child pornography cases are difficult to deter, because the victims are children.
“This year we’ve been really focusing on child pornography,†Martini said. “It’s one of those things where victims can go for long periods of time without being discovered.â€
Arrests like Friday’s can have an impact, he said.
“The more we can advertise this,†Martini said, “the more we can show the community that this is going on under their noses.â€
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