San Rafael Man Arrested For Child Porn: Police

SAN RAFAEL, CA – A 50-year-old San Rafael man has been arrested on suspicion of possession of child pornography, authorities announced.

Paul Ebbert was arrested Thursday at his home in San Rafael, according to San Rafael police.

Detectives launched a multi-agency investigation after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported in July 2018 that an image of suspected child porn was uploaded to the internet by an unknown suspect, according to San Rafael police Sgt. Justin Graham.

Detectives worked with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in San Jose to further investigate the case. Through a series of search warrants, Graham said detectives were able to isolate the location from where the image was uploaded.

In October 2018, authorities executed a search warrant on the 100 block of C Street in San Rafael.

"Numerous electronics and data storage devices were seized during the search and then sent to the Northern California Computer Crimes Task Force for analysis," Graham said. "During a forensic analysis of the computers and data storage devices, hundreds of child pornography videos and thousands of child pornography images were uncovered.

The case was forwarded to the Marin County District Attorney's Office and a warrant was issued for Ebbert's arrest. On Thursday, he was booked into Marin County Jail on a charge of possession and distribution of child pornography.

Anyone with information about this case or similar cases was asked to call the San Rafael Police Department at 415-485-3000. Anonymous tips can also be submitted at www.srpd.org/tips.

Photo by Renee Schiavone/Patch