Man charged with taking photos of boys in Sitka swimming pool locker room

A seasonal fishery worker has been charged with eight counts related to exploiting minors for allegedly taking photos and video of nude minors in a Sitka swimming pool locker room this summer.

Khari Atiba Wade was indicted on a total of 11 charges Thursday. The charges include tampering with physical evidence, eight charges of exploitation of a minor, and two charges of indecent viewing or photographing without consent.

The state identified Wade in a press release as a seasonal worker at Silver Bay Seafoods, but did not say where he permanently lives.

Wade was first called to the attention of Sitka Police on August 8 when someone reported seeing him handing money to children at the movie theater. About two weeks later, on August 26, the Sitka Police Department was notified that a man, later identified as Wade, had been taking pictures of a minor in the boy’s locker room at the middle school pool during open swim. The minor told a detective that the man pointed his phone at the minor and angled it downward.

The state's press release says that in an interview with police, Wade reportedly admitted to recording a cell phone video of the minor and said that he’d taken video of multiple different nude minors earlier that day, and the previous day.

The Anchorage Police Department’s cyber crimes unit extracted data from Wade’s cell phone and found video recordings of minors in the community, the release said.

Wade is currently in custody at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center in Juneau, according to state records.

The state says he faces a potential sentence of up to 99 years for each count if he’s convicted.