CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A Canton Township man has been charged for paying an overseas sex trafficker for specific webcam “shows” involving young girls, officials said.
Charles Calahan Lowe, 49, of Canton Township, is accused of texting instructions to a known sex trafficker in the Philippines, detailing the type of sexually abusive actions he wanted to watch over the webcam.
He exchanged more than 1,600 text messages with the trafficker and paid her $30-$40 for live “shows” of young girls, according to authorities. The girls were as young as 3 years old.
Officials said the girls were sexually abused in real time to create explicit videos and images that were shared over Skype.
“The live sexual abuse of children over the internet is a heinous crime,” United States Attorney Dawn Ison said.
Lowe’s connection was discovered when federal authorities searched the trafficker’s Skype account and found detailed messages.
Lowe paid for the shows via wire transfers from Rite Aid stores near his home so his wife wouldn’t find out, according to authorities.
He was charged Thursday, May 4, with conspiracy to produce child pornography, production of child pornography, attempted production of child pornography, receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.
The trafficker has also been arrested and charged in the Philippines.
Lowe is the 112th person arrested in an international sex trafficking investigation that’s spanned across 10 years.