Walter William Onstad, a resident of Ketchikan, has pleaded guilty to charges of distributing child pornography, according to court documents. Onstad has confessed to being an administrator of a Kik group called “Anything Goes,” which was solely used for the distribution of child pornography.
As the group’s administrator, Onstad demanded that members provide images of child pornography to be admitted into the group. After verifying and approving the images, he would grant the individuals complete access to all of the images depicting children being sexually exploited on the Kik group.
Onstad was detained during his plea hearing and will remain in custody until his sentencing, which is scheduled for Aug. 17. If convicted, he faces a minimum sentence of five years in prison, with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and five to life on supervised release. The decision regarding his sentence will be made by a federal district court judge who will consider the U.S. sentencing guidelines and other legal factors.
Detectives of the Ketchikan Police Department arrested the now-45-year-old Onstad in downtown Ketchikan on May 2, 2022, for the crime of possession of child pornography. The investigation established Onstad had been in possession of over 1,000 combined images and videos containing suspected child pornography.
This case had been initiated by the Alaska Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force at the Anchorage Police Department. Once it was determined it was under the jurisdiction of local police, Ketchikan Police Department took over the investigation.
Onstad had worked in both Ketchikan and Juneau, including time at Home Depot and Sportsman’s Warehouse, and last year was employed by Ketchikan Public Utilities.
