Kofi Anash 
Police are trying a new tactic to catch a Redmond man suspected of child pornography.
Since his indictment in February, Jacob Todd Douglas Johnson, 28, has been a fugitive from justice. He left behind his vehicle, and his employer told police he didn’t pick up his most recent paycheck.
Police are now looking into a Gmail account possibly associated with Johnson. It was discovered during the investigation, and police say it could yield information on his whereabouts.
“Several attempts have been made to locate and apprehend Jacob Todd Douglas Johnson, however they have proven fruitless at this point and time,” wrote Oregon State Police Detective Mitchell Meyer in a search warrant request filed in Deschutes County Circuit Court.
The case began last winter when the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations Division told local authorities that Johnson bought bitcoins and was allegedly using them on the dark web to purchase child pornography, according to the search warrant request.
Federal authorities have been monitoring a particular child porn website, which is not named in court documents.
The IRS subpoenaed a bitcoin exchange website used by the site, which provided authorities with identifiers for a local account holder — Johnson — including his birthdate, address, social security number and credit card information, according to the search warrant request.
In December, a Deschutes County judge approved a request by Oregon State Police to search Johnson’s house. While this took place, he was taken to OSP’s Bend office and released pending a search of his electronic devices. Evidence related to the exploitation of children was allegedly found on those devices.
In February of this year, he was indicted by a grand jury, according to court documents.
Johnson allegedly spent around $100 on 20 videos downloaded from the website, according to court documents.
“I have reviewed these videos and, without a doubt, can confirm that they contain child pornography,” Meyer wrote.
In 2014, Johnson was convicted of attempted first-degree sex abuse, and as a sex offender, he’s required to periodically check in with a probation officer.
He completed post-prison supervision with the Deschutes County Department of Parole and Probation, though he was still receiving sex offender treatment as the time he absconded.
Local authorities have asked Google, a California corporation, to hand over information related to the email account [email protected] .
