CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A man from Canton Township is accused of exchanging 1,600 messages and joining 177 Skype calls with a trafficker in the Philippines who sells sexually abusive webcam sessions involving children, and then paying for those sessions with wire transfers at Rite Aid so his wife wouldn’t find out.
Charles Calahan Lowe, 49, of Canton Township, is named in a criminal complaint that was unsealed Friday, April 21.
He is accused of sexually exploiting children outside the United States, receiving/distributing/possessing child pornography, the online enticement of a child to engage in sexual activity, and the production of sexually explicit depictions of a minor for importation into the United States.
WARNING: Some of the details about this case are explicit and disturbing in nature.
Investigating webcam sessions
Officials with Homeland Security Investigations have been looking into people who sell live webcam shows that showcase the sexual abuse and exploitation of children to paying customers, according to authorities.
These traffickers collect viewership fees from international customers who can then direct the traffickers to perform sexually abusive acts on children during private webcam sessions, HSI officials said.
One such trafficker was identified in the Philippines, and authorities said she was selling sexually abusive material over Skype.
“HSI is aware that the trafficker has offered to provide access to live-streaming webcam shows using her Skype account that involve the sexual exploitation of minors in exchange for money,” the complaint says. “HSI is also aware that the trafficker did, in fact, have access to minors to sexually abuse on camera.”
Agents received a federal search warrant for that trafficker’s Skype account and found that she had communicated with someone who expressed interest in sexually abusive content involving children. That customer also arranged to pay for the content, officials said.
The criminal complaint says that account was linked back to an email address that belongs to Lowe.
The trafficker has since been arrested on suspicion of producing and distributing sexually abusive material involving children.
Skype calls between Lowe and trafficker
Skype provided agents with information from the trafficker’s account, which revealed 1,608 messages had been exchanged between her and Lowe between April 28, 2018, and Dec. 21, 2019.
They had also engaged in 177 Skype calls during that time period, officials said.
The trafficker and Lowe would, at times, discuss the exchange of money via Western Union and online “tips” for sessions, the criminal complaint says.
During that same time period, the trafficker sent 29 child porn videos and pictures to Lowe, agents believe. Not all of those media files were retained by Skype.
“Based on my review, and my training and experience, I believe the chat conversations are consistent with the sale of live-streaming depictions of child sexual abuse, wherein the child sex trafficker offers a paying customer access to live-streaming video depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and, once the trafficker and the purchaser come to a financial agreement, a video call is placed,” an HSI agent wrote in the complaint.
At one point in the chat, Lowe told the trafficker he wanted to see her 3-year-old daughter featured in the webcam calls, according to authorities. He sent several sexually explicit and graphic messages about the child, court records show.
“Wish you had little older girl to show,” Lowe wrote in another messages, the complaint says. “4-8 nice.”
The trafficker also offered Lowe sexually explicit shows and files involving a 9-year-old girl, officials said. Lowe received explicit images of the 9-year-old and responded by saying he wanted to see the 3-year-old again, according to agents.
“The complete chat log, as provided in the search warrant return, between Lowe and the trafficker, is lengthy and consists almost entirely of show details, payments for same, followed by a live show of child sex abuse, as agreed upon,” the criminal complaint says.
Wire payments
Records from Western Union show that a person using the same email address associated with Lowe’s Skype account sent wire payments to addresses in the Philippines.
Those payments were sent in the same timeframe as the above chats, officials said. They were sent from three Rite Aid stores in Canton Township, according to authorities.
False information was used by the wire transfer sender: A non-existent name and an address on Main Street in Plymouth. He also used a phone number that belongs to an automotive supplier in Auburn Hills, officials said.
A security representative from the automotive company told authorities that the number associated with the transfers had been assigned to Lowe, who previously worked at the company as a supplier quality engineer from 2017-2022.
This information helped officials link Lowe’s address to the phone number. They realized his house is 1.8 miles, 5.1 miles, and 8.6 miles away from the three Rite Aid stores from which the wire transfers were sent, according to the criminal complaint.
Canton Township home searched
Agents searched Lowe’s house on April 20, 2023, and seized multiple electronic devices.
While at his house, they searched his phone and found a sexually abusive video of a girl around 12-14 years old, agents said.
Lowe agreed to speak with authorities around 6:20 a.m. April 20. He admitted to chatting with someone overseas on his computer. He said there might be child pornography on his computer and that he had “probably” used Western Union to send payments so his wife wouldn’t find out, the criminal complaint says.
Charges
The criminal complaint concludes there’s enough evidence to charge Lowe with several child sex crimes, including:
- Sexual exploitation of a child.
- Sexual exploitation of a child outside the United States.
- Attempt and conspiracy to sexually exploit a child.
- Receiving/distributing/possessing child pornography.
- Online enticement of a child to engage in sexual activity.
- Production of sexually explicit depictions of a minor for importation to the Unites States.
- Attempt and conspiracy to produce sexually explicit depictions of a minor for importation to the United States.