Theater worker charged in child-porn case didn't have improper contact with kids, feds say

Federal prosecutors say they have found no evidence that a longtime employee at the Seattle Children's Theatre, charged with possessing child pornography, had any improper contact with children at the theater or elsewhere.

William Edgar Hoke, 38, a 13-year employee at the theater and the operation's director of information technology, was ordered released from detention pending trial by a federal magistrate judge Wednesday after prosecutors agreed with federal Pre-Trial Services agents that Hoke could safely be monitored using a GPS device.

Hoke's defense attorney, Thomas Hillier, urged the court to release him as soon as possible. Hillier said publicity surrounding his arrest had made Hoke a potential target at the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac, where he had been held since Tuesday.

Hoke, dressed in prison khaki, said nothing during Wednesday's hearing.

A lengthy complaint filed against Hoke on Tuesday accuses him of viewing and making hundreds of comments in posts to a password-protected bulletin board where users from more than 30 countries traded child pornography. He is charged with a single count of possession of child pornography.

Hoke came to the attention of federal investigators from the U.S. Postal Service, who were tracking the nearly 550 people who had subscriptions to the bulletin board, according to court documents. Agents tracked an e-mail address to computers both at Hoke's home and work, the complaint says.

The charges allege he viewed and downloaded photos, including sexually suggestive photos of young girls, and posted hundreds of comments about other photographs.

He has been placed on administrative leave by Seattle Children's Theatre (STC).

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Dimke said in court Wednesday that agents had combed the computers and other evidence seized from Hoke's home and office at Seattle Children's Theatre and found nothing to indicate that Hoke was responsible for taking any of the hundreds of photos of nude children agents say they found.

Hoke has no criminal record, and his attorney, Hillier, from the federal Public Defender's Office, said Hoke has the support of his wife.

But Dimke also said the government was concerned for Hoke's mental health — agents reported he became "distraught" when confronted with the photographs and told them the Seattle Children's Theater had been his life, and now his "life was over."

Dimke, however, said the government's concerns would be satisfied as long as Hoke was monitored with GPS, not allowed access to the Internet and obeyed the court's order to stay away from children.

A letter from Tim Jennings, the managing director at SCT, said the theater has cooperated with the investigation and agents "have assured us that no children from the Theatre were involved in any way.

"We were also advised that no evidence of improper or illegal materials were found on SCT computers," he said.

He said the theater conducts "rigorous background checks, which are designed to ensure that our employees meet the highest standards of personal and professional conduct."

He said that all employees also sign a "Conduct with Minors Policy Statement" and reiterated that Hoke "has no prior police record, nor were there indicators to suggest any grounds for concern."

Seattle Times staff reporter Sara Jean Green contributed to this report.