KENT, Wash. — Fifty-seven year old James Christopher Rivers, a longtime audio engineer who has toured with Queensryche, Whitesnake, Bad Company, Three Dog Night and more – was charged in King County Superior Court on Monday with two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
Rivers also taught audio classes at the Art Institute of Seattle for more than 26 years, according to his LinkedIn page.
Rivers first came to the attention of the FBI last week after he sent his laptop computer to a Cleveland, Ohio, company “to wipe pornography,” because Rivers “was having problems with his wife and did not want her to divorce him over pornography that was on the computer.”
When the technician began working on the laptop, “he came across two videos that appeared to depict child pornography.”
According to police documents, the videos show Rivers carefully placing recording equipment in a bathroom.
In one video, the recording device is hidden in a tissue box, and records video of a young girl getting into the shower.
“The recording device is positioned to capture the genital and chest area of the child,” the documents reveal.
In the second video, the recording device is placed “on a bathroom counter…to record towards the bathtub.” The video runs more than 14 minutes, and shows a young girl taking a bath.
The Cleveland computer company contacted the FBI as soon as the videos were discovered, and an investigation was launched.
Kent police arrested Rivers at a recording and rehearsal studio in Sumner last Thursday, but he bailed-out of jail the next day.
When reached at his home in Kent Monday, Rivers declined to comment.
But Drew Newman, a student at the Arts Institute of Seattle said Rivers was a quiet, wise teacher who had great career advice for his students.
“Instead of, this is how you do it from the book’s perspective, he would tell us about his experiences, where he’s been,” Newman told KIRO 7.
Newman was surprised to hear about Rivers' arrest but said, “We don’t know the whole story.”
Kent police seized additional computers and electronics from Rivers’ home, which are being forensically examined.
Rivers will appear in court on Oct. 27.
KIRO
