Former Cub Scout Leader May Face More Charges in Child Porn Case

Michael Vawter of Danville stands accused of downloading child pornography onto his computer.

Federal prosecutors are looking into filing additional charges against Michael Vawter, a 40-year-old Danville man accused of downloading child pornography from the Internet.

Vawter appeared in a federal court in Oakland last week, when his attorney asked to postpone a hearing where the judge will set a bail amount.

The former Cub Scout leader pleaded not guilty earlier this month.

A psychotherapist was scheduled to give Vawter a mental evaluation because he feels suicidal, according to court records.

A written report from the psychiatric interview will be presented to a judge on Nov. 4, and a verbal summary will be heard at a detention hearing that was rescheduled for 10 a.m. Monday.

San Ramon police originally arrested Vawter in March after reports from an anonymous caller to a cybercrime tip line run by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Vawter immediately posted $200,000 bail and attended several hearings concerning two felony charges brought against him by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.

But those charges were dropped this month when the U.S. Attorney General’s Office took up the case. Vawter now stands accused of two federal felony counts of obtaining and possessing child porn.

Police say they found 187 videos on Vawter’s removable drive apparently depicting children engaged in sexual acts with adults. Detectives say he downloaded the videos through a peer-to-peer file-sharing software called Limewire.

Before the FBI arrested him in a Walnut Creek courthouse this month, Vawter lived in Danville with his wife and two children.

Vawter was fired from his job as an executive at CCI Financial in San Ramon. The Boy Scouts of America revoked his membership days after his arrest.

Vawter is in custody in a federal prison.