Seattle ski coach who recorded school girls on Canadian trip returned to US to face federal charges

SEATTLE – A former private school ski coach accused of secretly recording female students undressing on a school trip in Canada was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents Wednesday to face U.S. child exploitation charges.

Jason Christopher Paur, 44, of Seattle, pleaded guilty last week in Canada to possession of child pornography and two counts of secretly observing/recording nudity and was sentenced to time served. He was arrested in December 2013 by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after female students discovered a hidden camera in their room. The students notified chaperones who contacted police. The camera seized in Canada contained images of students as young as 14 being secretly filmed while changing clothes or after exiting the shower. HSI’s investigation revealed Paur had recorded students not only in 2013, but also during trips in 2012 and 2011, according to records in the case.

The indictment alleges Paur used the pictures for his own sexual gratification and transported the pictures from Canada to the U.S. The indictment further alleges that Paur traveled with the teens to Canada with the intention to film them for his own sexual gratification. He is charged with production of child pornography with intent to transport; possession of child pornography; transportation of minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; and two counts of production and transportation of child pornography.

Paur has since been fired by the Bush School, according to school officials who fully cooperated with the investigation. Paur also worked as a freelance aerospace journalist.

The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington is prosecuting the case.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2013, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.