Son of former Seattle Mayor McGinn pleads not guilty to child pornography charges

The son of former Seattle mayor Mike McGinn pleaded not guilty to child pornography charges this week.

Jack McGinn was arrested late last month on two felony counts related to possessing and distributing child pornography. He told investigators during questioning he had downloaded at least 100 files onto his computer depicting underage children engaging in sexual acts at the time.

McGinn previously posted bail of $100,000. He is prohibited from having contact with minors and cannot use the internet without a computer monitoring system.

Original Story — April 2

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO) charged Jack McGinn — the son of former Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn — with two felony counts related to the possessing and distributing child pornography on Tuesday.

Jack McGinn, 29, faces one charge of dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct in the first degree and one count of possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct in the first degree, KCPAO said in a statement sent to KIRO Newsradio Tuesday.

Documents indicate the Seattle Police Department (SPD) had been investigating Jack McGinn for several months before arresting him last Friday at his home in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood. A family friend told law enforcement that Jack McGinn moved back into the home after his father, Mike McGinn, moved to the East Coast.

Jack McGinn admitted during questioning to downloading “at least a hundred files containing images or videos of underage children involved in sexually explicit conduct,” the documents state.

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Jack McGinn went on to say he has a cocaine addiction and goes on weekend benders which is when he typically views the child sex abuse material on his desktop.

He also stated that he knew it was wrong and he didn’t know why he did not delete the illegal files once he viewed them.

The documents also indicate Jack McGinn’s direct neighbor has children around four or five years old. The residence where Jack McGinn lived also is about a block away from a park where an SPD officer noticed multiple children playing.

SPD wrote about an arrest in a post on its SPD Blotter last Friday, stating department Internet Crimes Against Children investigators, officers with the Community Response Group and members of the Washington ICAC Taskforce served a search warrant at a home in the city’s Greenwood neighborhood. SPD kept the suspect’s identity anonymous in the online post, but confirmed to MyNorthwest late Tuesday afternoon McGinn was the person SPD arrested Friday and is the subject of that online post.

Jack McGinn in court over charges

The KCPAO asked for $100,000 bail during Jack McGinn’s first court appearance Saturday, according to a statement sent to KIRO Newsradio. The office also sought an order that Jack McGinn not use or possess any devices capable of accessing the Internet without monitoring software. Prosecutors also asked for the court to order no contact with minors without exception and no use of alcohol or non-prescribed drugs.

“The basis behind our bail request is that we believe if released Mr. McGinn might commit a violent offense in light of the depraved nature of the depictions which he possessed and accessed,” Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jullian Haley said.

McGinn’s defense attorney, Todd Maybrown, said the KCPAO’s $100,000 bail was an “excessive request” and added “There was a very strong argument for release on personal recognizance,” the KCPAO stated.

“In terms of danger, the internet is a potential danger for Mr. McGinn,” Maybrown said during the hearing. “There’s no claim of any hands-on offense of any kind. In fact, in the probable cause paperwork, it says the opposite.”

The court set Jack McGinn’s bail at $70,000 and agreed with the KCPAO’s other conditions, including not possessing devices that access the internet and avoiding contact with minors.

He was booked in the King County Jail and has been out on bail since Saturday evening.

Jack McGinn’s arraignment in the case is scheduled for April 15. That is when he will enter an initial plea.

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More on the former mayor

Mike McGinn was the mayor of Seattle from 2010 to 2013. During Seattle’s mayoral race in 2009, McGinn received 51.1% of the vote, edging out Joe Mallahan, who received 47.7% of the vote. McGinn sought reelection in 2013 but lost to Ed Murray by less than 10,000 votes. He ran again in 2017, failing to make it out of the primary after receiving the sixth-most votes (6.5% in the 2017 primary).

Mike McGinn currently is the executive director of America Walks, a “national nonprofit that advances safe, equitable, accessible, and enjoyable places to walk and move by giving people and communities the resources to effectively advocate for change,” the organization’s website says. It is located in Northern Virginia.

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.

Steve Coogan is the lead editor of MyNorthwest. You can read more of his stories here. Follow Steve on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email him here.