Linn County Sheriff Jim Yon reports on March 16, 2021, his detectives served a child exploitation search warrant at a residence on Fern Ridge Road in Sweet Home. The search warrant was the culmination of an investigation into the distribution of child pornography over the internet from an IP address in Sweet Home.
Detectives interviewed William Tyler Paul Maze, 30, (renter of the residence) who admitted to searching the internet for child pornography, downloading its contents, and sharing the content with others. Following interviews and preliminary on-site digital forensics, Maze was arrested and transported to the Linn County Jail. Maze was charged with ten counts of Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse in the First Degree. Additional charges may be forthcoming following digital forensic examination of devices seized during the search warrant.
The Linn County Sheriff’s Office was assisted during the search warrant by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office and the Sweet Home Police Department.
This investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information relevant to this investigation is encouraged to contact Detective Trenary at (541) 967-3950.