Former Sonoma County church camp volunteer charged in FBI child porn probe

The FBI is seeking possible victims of a Santa Rosa man charged in a federal child pornography case, who investigators believe volunteered at two Northern California youth camps.

FBI officials announced the case this month, saying that Christopher Wagner volunteered at Camp Cazadero in Sonoma County from 2007 to 2011 and Camp Tamarack, located near Fresno, from 2007 to 2014.

The Northern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ operated youth camps at both locations during that period. The conference’s network of more than 100 churches includes the Community Church of Sebastopol.

Wagner, 41, is a former IT consultant for Sonoma Media Investments, The Press Democrat’s parent company. He worked in that capacity for about seven years, ending in 2020, according to Stephen Daniels, SMI’s chief financial officer.

The FBI arrested Wagner on Dec. 9 at his home in Santa Rosa. He was charged with possession of child pornography, authorities said.

Investigators believe he primarily targeted boys. They ask that anyone with information relevant to the investigation fill out a form at bit.ly/37JpoXd.

“If you know of someone else who has possibly been victimized by Christopher Wagner, please encourage them to complete the form themselves,” the FBI said.

According to an FBI criminal complaint, a federal agent investigating online child pornography trafficking discovered that someone had requested at least three child pornography videos between May and June 2021.

The discovery was made during a probe into suspicious activity on an online peer-to-peer network that allows users to anonymously share files and chat.

Investigators connected Wagner to the requests in September, after serving a subpoena on Comcast Cable Communications that sought information about the IP address of the user who made the requests, according to the complaint.

Santa Rosa Police and federal agents searched Wagner’s home on Dec. 9, after the FBI got a warrant, according to the complaint.

They found multiple files on a computer at the home containing child pornography, the complaint said.

Wagner was arrested that day. He was released on bond the next day, according to an FBI spokesperson.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Wagner declined to comment about the federal investigation.

Wagner’s attorney, Federal Public Defender Daniel Paul Blank, declined to comment Wednesday morning

The Rev. Dr. Diane Weible, the conference minister for the Northern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ, confirmed that it operated youth camps at both Camp Cazadero and Camp Tamarack.

Weible said her records show that Wagner was an adult volunteer camp counselor at Camp Cazadero between 2007 and 2011, as noted by the FBI.

The role put him in charge of leading activities that the camp’s directors organized for the weeklong youth program, Weible said. The camp, located on King Ridge Road in Cazadero, was sold by the church last year, she added.

While the FBI notice said Wagner additionally volunteered at Camp Tamarack from 2007 to 2014, Weible said she had no record of that.

The FBI did not provide more information about this discrepancy.

The conference’s website said Camp Tamarack is in the high Sierras, east of Fresno. Weible said the camp is on U.S. Forest Service land but is leased by the church.

The Rev. Rachel Knuth of the Community Church of Sebastopol, which is one of the churches in the Northern California Nevada Conference, said Tuesday that Wagner had attended the church in the past, though “it’s been years.”

She added that he had not served as a volunteer since she’d been appointed. According to the church’s website she was appointed in August 2015.

On Friday, Knuth sent an email to her congregation about the federal charges against Wagner. The regional conference also noted the investigation in a newsletter sent a day prior.

Weible said the church has strict rules for volunteers who engage with youth, though she could not say whether those same protocols were in place when Wagner volunteered.

Facebook pages for Camp Cazadero and Camp Tamarack shared the FBI’s message seeking potential victims in the child pornography case.

“It is important we address this head on so we can support any victims who may come forward and also recognize the trauma this causes to us all,” the postings stated.

You can reach Staff Writer Alana Minkler at 707-526-8511 or alana.minkler@pressdemocrat.com and Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or at nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com.