LONG BEACH — A $500,000 arrest warrant has been issued for Preston R.A. Sheppard, 20, after an investigation of alleged child pornography by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, Washington State Patrol, and Long Beach Police Department.

Google reported suspicious content to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on July 20, 2023, after discovering inappropriate material on a Google Drive associated with Sheppard.

According to court documents, the investigation was handed over to the Washington State Patrol Missing and Exploited Children Task Force on May 6, 2024. Detective Brandon Querubin and his colleagues were handed the case after it was confirmed that Sheppard lived within their district.

Investigators located approximately 48 files, of which two were viewed and confirmed to contain graphic child pornography. The files also reportedly contained the tags stating “Apparent Child Pornography.”

In the two video files investigators found the material involved young girls between the ages of 8-10 engaged in sexually explicit acts.

According to court documents, investigators conducted surveillance multiple times on Sheppard in mid-to-late 2024 and early 2025, attempting to capture him. He was apprehended on March 27 after a joint operation between various agencies.

Sheppard was interviewed in the back of Querubin’s patrol vehicle.

“When I told Sheppard I suspected that he was the one who performed the uploads of the child sexual abuse material, he replied with ‘I don’t recall doing that though, ‘” Querubin stated in court documents.

The Google account reportedly traced back to a cell phone belonging to a former partner of Sheppard. It was also traced back to email addresses allegedly belonging to Sheppard — although he reported that he had many — which his former partner confirmed, noting that he used her phone for “verification texts.”

Investigators seized devices associated with Sheppard but ultimately released him because they were not able to access the devices at the time of his apprehension.

According to court documents, investigators later found a photo on his phone of a child living at the home where he resided. Investigators spoke with the minor, who told them she didn’t think he meant any harm.

Investigators eventually located a video of a minor engaged in sexually explicit content on his phone.

On July 16, Pacific County Superior Court Judge Donald J. Richter issued a $500,000 warrant for Sheppard’s arrest.

Sheppard faces six counts of first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit content and one count of second-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit content.