SPOKANE, Wash. — A former Washington state newspaper editor was arrested on allegations of paying women in alternate for sexually express photographs.

Steve Smith, 73, was government editor of The Spokesman-Review in Spokane from 2002 to 2008. Washington State Patrol detectives arrested Smith Thursday on 10 counts of first-degree possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually express conduct, KHQ reported.

He declined a jail interview with The Spokesman-Review Thursday night. At a listening to Friday, he was ordered held on $25,000 bond. The Associated Press was unable Friday night to find an lawyer who may communicate for Smith.

An account in Smith‘s title for a cell money cost service was linked to an investigation into kids utilizing social media to ship sexually express images of themselves in alternate for cash despatched to them by way of the app, in line with courtroom paperwork.

The victims, 10-to-14-year-old women, despatched photographs to an Instagram account and acquired cash by way of a money app account. Internet exercise of each accounts had been traced to Smith‘s Spokane house, the paperwork stated.

Chat conversations confirmed Smith was conscious of the women’ ages, the paperwork stated.

He had a “very large amount” of photographs depicting little one sexual abuse and was actively downloading extra when investigations searched his house Thursday, the paperwork stated, including that when a detective requested if he knew why they had been there with a search warrant he replied, “yes, it’s probably from what I have been downloading.”

After leaving The Spokesman-Review, Smith served as a journalism medical affiliate professor on the University of Idaho, specializing in educating journalism ethics. He retired in 2020.

The nonprofit information group FāVS News, which has employed Smith as a columnist since 2020 and just lately named him managing editor, stated Friday that he’d been suspended indefinitely following the arrest.

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