The Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team (SOCET) joint inter-agency task force arrested a Central Point man today after investigators discovered he possessed over 100,000 images and videos of child pornography.
The suspect, Dennis Clark Thorson, 83, of Central Point, has been federally charged with two felony counts of possession and receipt of child pornography. SOCET, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) Patrol deputies executed a federal arrest warrant today at the subject’s residence on the 90 block of Bigham Drive in Central Point.
Thorson was using sophisticated computer software that allowed him to search other people’s computers who were sharing their child pornography collection and download it directly from them.
Central Point Police Department initiated the investigation into Thorson after receiving a tip that he had been viewing child pornography on his computer. Digital devices were seized, and a federal search warrant was obtained to examine the contents. The Southern Oregon High-Tech Crimes Task Force (SOHTCTF) conducted the forensic examination of the devices.
SOCET is a joint inter-agency task force that started in June of 2020 to combat child exploitation and human trafficking. The task force consists of investigators from JCSO, Oregon State Police, Grants Pass Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and HSI; as well as prosecutors from our local, state and federal law enforcement partners in Jackson and Josephine County.
