A Canadian woman who was arrested on child sex charges allegedly told cops she did it to keep her boyfriend “interested in her sexually.”
Cops say Rachel Ann Openshaw Tapia, 29, of Birch Bay, Washington was arrested and charged on one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and two counts of possessing and dealing child sexual abuse material.
She is being held in Whatcom County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail.
Openshaw Tapia — originally from Langley, b.c. — was arrested on Jan. 9 at her Birch Bay home following a multi-agency probe that began in November 2024.
According to investigators, the messaging app Kik reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that one of their users shared 13 images and/or videos depicting child sexual abuse.
In early December, Kik informed NCMC that a different user shared five files containing child pornography. The sickening material was shared from the same IP address as the previous report.
Both accounts allegedly had different email addresses containing Openshaw Tapia’s full name.
Two weeks before Christmas, Bellingham and Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office detectives — members of the state’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force — were assigned to the investigation.
According to the affidavit, cops requested information on the IP address from Comcast Cable on Jan. 2. Four days later, those records allegedly revealed that the IP address was associated with Openshaw Tapia’s home.
When detectives arrived with a search warrant, Openshaw Tapia allegedly waived her Miranda rights and confessed to sending the horrific photos of young children to a man living out of state.
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Her online paramour had allegedly expressed a sexual interest in children, Openshaw Tapia told investigators. Her goal was allegedly to “keep him interested in her sexually.”
She allegedly added that Kik banned her first account after she sent child pornography to the man. Not to be deterred, she allegedly created a second account that was also later banned.
Openshaw Tapia is believed to be a divorced mother of two.
On her Linkedin page, she says she’s a Cruise Line Representative at Destinations North America. However, her most recent job appears to be as a server at Ricky’s All Day Grill.
Each of the charges is punishable by up to 10 years in prison or a $20,000 fine. Her next court appearance is Jan. 17.