Maple Valley Man Involved in Youth Baseball Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges

Information from the office of U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan:

A family law attorney who previously practiced in Kent pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to production of child pornography, receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. 

David Scott Engle, 49, of Maple Valley, was arrested in November 2012.  Engle, who both volunteered in and ran a business involving youth baseball, has been incarcerated since his arrest. 

According to information available on the Internet, Engle had been listed as the District 4 Commissioner for the Southern Washington Babe Ruth Leagues, which represents Pierce County (except Gig Harbor) and the Enumclaw School District, among others. He was also the coach for the Mid-Sound Pilots Select Bronco baseball team for 11- and 12-year-olds, the president for Maple Valley Pony Baseball and Fast Pitch, and the Assistant to the Mount Rainier Baseball Association’s Vice President of Babe Ruth Leagues. Engle also appears to be associated with a business named “5 Star Baseball and Softball," according to the U.S. State Attorney's office.

After his arrest, the Mount Rainier Baseball Association announced it terminated Engle's membership.

Engle faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of fifteen years when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge James L. Robart on October 21, 2013.

According to records filed in the case, Engle came to the attention of law enforcement following the investigation of an international movie production company that operated a website offering DVDs and streaming videos for sale.  The materials depicted young boys in sexually explicit activity.  Between 2005 and 2011, Engle purchased 184 different items from the website.  The international movie production company was put out of business when agents seized its inventory and records.  The company and the owners of the company are being prosecuted for child exploitation offenses, including the production and distribution of child pornography. 

After law enforcement executed a search warrant on Engle's home and storage locker in November 2012, they discovered more than 500 videos of Engle sexually molesting a young boy under the age of 16.  Law enforcement later discovered additional evidence of Engle sexually molesting another young boy, also under the age of 16.  Engle is being separately prosecuted for those offenses by the King County Prosecutor’s Office.  Following forensic examination of a number of computers, DVDs, thumb drives, and floppy disks, investigators determined that Engle was in possession of tens of thousands of images of child pornography, and thousands of videos of child pornography.

The case is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Marci Ellsworth.