YPSILANTI, Mich. – An Ypsilanti man who exposed himself to a teenage babysitter and kissed her 25 years ago was days away from being removed from the sex offender registry when he got caught with child pornography, officials said.
Thomas Albert Spalding, 59, of Ypsilanti, has been named in a criminal complaint that was unsealed Thursday, June 8.
Child pornography investigation traced back to Ypsilanti home
Officials with Homeland Security Investigations said they received information on April 6 about a person who was advertising and distributing child pornography.
That person, eventually identified as Spalding, was offering to share child pornography with others and had 160 known child porn files, according to authorities.
Three of those files were downloaded by investigators and reviewed. They meet the federal definition of child pornography, the criminal complaint says.
Working with Comcast, officials traced the IP address associated with the files back to a home in Ypsilanti. Spalding was the registered owner of the home, police said.
Search warrant
Officials received a search warrant for Spalding’s home and executed it on June 8.
Spalding was home at the time of the search, and he told agents that he was the only person who lives there, court records show. He said he was not aware of anyone else using his internet, and the Wi-Fi was password protected.
Forensics agents examined a desktop computer and found multiple child pornography files, including one that said “I (heart emoji) baby porn” on it, according to the criminal complaint.
Michigan sex offender registry
Court records show Spalding is currently a registered sex offender in Michigan because he “exposed himself” to a 15-year-old babysitter, and then kissed her.
That incident happened in June 1998, and Spalding was convicted of a misdemeanor. He was scheduled to be removed from the sex offender registry on June 19, 2023.
Spalding also has a felony conviction for second-degree criminal sexual conduct from January 1991.
Charge
The criminal complaint concludes there’s probable cause that Spalding possessed, received, and distributed child pornography and other related materials.