UPPER LAKE >> Law enforcement officers arrested Douglas Pippert over the weekend following several months investigating child pornography allegations. Pippert was living in a travel trailer located near Upper Lake.
When officers arrived the noted evidence of child pornography and child exploitation in plain view. The 46-year-old was taken into custody.
According to Sgt. Brandon Lee of the Fort Bragg Police Department, the investigation began in November of 2015 when officers in that community were alerted by a concerned parent of inappropriate activity discovered on their child’s Facebook account.
An initial investigation revealed that a Facebook user had been communicating with the child using a fictitious Facebook account portraying themselves as a juvenile female. Multiple exchanges of inappropriate photos had been conducted, which ultimately led to photos of adult male genitalia being sent to the child.
Months of investigation involving multiple search warrants for cell phone usage, WiFi Internet access, and discovery of locations for IP addresses were completed.
On March 12, officers obtained and served a signed search warrant for Pippert’s trailer.
Pippert was arrested facing multiple charges and booked into the Lake County jail with a $1,000,000.00 bail. Pippert will be transferred to the Mendocino County jail where he will be arraigned .
This investigation is ongoing.
