DETROIT (WWJ) -- A Canton man faces seven felony charges after federal and international authorities discovered disturbing conversations in which he requested child pornography videos from a sex trafficker in the Philippines.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Charles Calahan Lowe, 49, of Canton, exchanged more than 1,600 text messages with a known sex trafficker. In the messages, Lowe detailed the kind of child sexual abuse he wanted to watch live over Skype.
Lowe would then pay the trafficker -- identified only as a woman from the Philippines -- thirty to forty dollars for the explicit content, some of which involved girls as young as three.
The payments were made via wire transfer through Western Union, which Lowe sent from Rite Aid stores near his home to avoid being discovered by his wife.
Law enforcement first learned of Lowe's existence when they obtained a federal search warrant for the trafficker's Skype account and found the incriminating text exchanges.
The trafficker was arrested and charged overseas.
Lowe has been charged with seven counts related to producing, receiving and possessing child pornography.
Based on the charges and the ages of the victims, Lowe could spend between five and thirty years in prison if he is found guilty.
U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced the charges Friday, along with Angine M. Salazar, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Detroit.
"The live sexual abuse of children over the internet is a heinous crime," Ison said, reiterating her office's dedication to prosecuting sex crimes, especially those against "the most innocent and vulnerable members of society."
Lowe is the 112th person arrested as part of an international sex trafficking investigation which has spanned nearly 10 years.
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