Toddler found dead next to unconscious father

By Associated Press

KETCHIKAN

A toddler was found dead and her father unconscious a few days after the child's mother got a protective order because her husband allegedly had child pornography on his computer.

Sarah Paul, 22 months, was found dead Tuesday. Her father, 44-year-old James Michael Paul, was unconscious in his downtown Ketchikan apartment.

An autopsy was to be done to determine why the toddler died, said Ketchikan Public Safety Director Rich Leipfert. The father was taken by ambulance to Ketchikan General Hospital where he was recovering, Leipfert said.

Ketchikan police received a call at 4:21 p.m. Tuesday because the child had not been returned to her mother, Paul's wife, Nannapat Paul.

The child was to be returned under terms of a protective order issued Friday that specified how the father would be allowed to visit the child.

Officers found the girl and her father when they went to check on the girl.

On April 19, 2002, James Paul was indicted on 22 felony counts of possessing child pornography, according to court records. Three days later, on April 22, his ex-wife, Dorrien M. Hendrickson, asked the court to suspend his visitation rights with their two children.

On Aug. 6, 2002, he pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of knowingly attempting to possess child pornography in a hearing before Ketchikan Superior Court Judge Michael Thompson, according to court records.

Under a plea bargain, Paul was sentenced to serve 90 days and ordered him to register as a sex offender. He was discharged under other than honorable conditions from the U.S. Coast Guard on May 6, 2003, after nearly 18 years of service.

In a Feb. 2, 2004, request for a domestic violence protective order, Nannapat expressed fear for herself and her daughter, Sarah. She said her husband was collecting child pornography on his computer. She also alleged other forms of abusive behavior. Magistrate Teresa Chenhall issued a restraining order that day.

An arrest warrant, charging multiple counts of possession of child pornography, will be served on Paul when he is ready to leave the hospital, said Leipfert.

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I find this story to be rather confusing and tragic. First of all, that a man would lose his livelihood, his wife, and possibly the custody of his children over a charge of child pornography, is to me tragic. Secondly, there is no explanation given, or theory as to what happened to the man and his daughter. Strange.

DS