Man accused of child porn possession allegedly took photos of girls at Seattle fountain

SEATTLE -- A man accused of possessing thousands of child pornography images and videos also took hundreds of pictures of young girls in bathing suits in and around the International Fountain at the Seattle Center, court documents show.

Greg Weldon Phillips, 57, was arrested Friday and charged with distributing and receiving child pornography in U.S. District Court.

On Tuesday, a judge ordered Phillips held in jail until his trial, saying he is a danger to the public. He has no criminal record.

In court documents, investigators say that along with trading thousands of graphic videos and images of children engaged in sexual acts, they believe Phillips took "over 1,000 images depicting minor females at a known public fountain," court documents show.

Homeland Security confirmed to Q13 FOX News that the public fountain was the large International Fountain at the Seattle Center

According to court documents, the images depicted girls between the ages of 10 and 13 in two-piece bathing suits walking and playing in the fountain. They were allegedly captured in 2014 on a camera Phillips owns.

Agents allegedly uncovered Phillips' child pornography dealings during an investigation that began in Springfield, Ill. Investigators said they quickly found images passed to and from Phillips, along with messages that graphically described what he hoped to do with children.

Agents said Phillips allegedly coached others he chatted with on how to abuse their own children.