South Lake Tahoe ski instructor and coach indicted on child pornography charges

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The South Lake Tahoe man arrested in April on child pornography charges was indicted today by a federal grand jury.

Timothy Daniel Mackey, 39, was arrested at his home after a search warrant served on April 15, 2020. Since that time he has been in jail. If convicted, Mackey faces 5-20 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines.

According to court documents, between Feb. 5 and Feb. 26, 2020, Mackey distributed visual depictions of children engaging in sexually explicit activities. Mackey worked as a snowboarding instructor at Heavenly Mountain Resort, was a member of the boys' junior varsity coaching staff at South Tahoe High, and had applied to become a foster parent prior to his arrest.

The criminal complaint filed in federal court on April 20, states a member of the FBI Exploitation Task Force in Salt Lake City maintained a covert identity on the app, LiveMe. The complaint said Mackey was a user on the app that went by the name "bag of rock" and through this, allegedly distributed visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit acts.

Mackey was allegedly the owner/administrator of a group in the LiveMe app titled “pic/vid share,” according to the FBI in their criminal complaint. The FBI's Online Covert Employee (OCE) said this group is known to be a group dedicated to sharing and exchanging images and videos of child pornography.

"Heavenly Mountain Resort is deeply troubled by the arrest of a former employee of our resort. The safety and well-being of our guests are of the utmost importance to Heavenly. We take all complaints of this nature very seriously, and we are fully cooperating with the investigation," said Heavenly spokesperson Russell Carlton at the time of the arrest.

Anyone who has information related to this case or who believes their child may be a victim can contact the FBI at tahoevictims@fbi.gov.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mira Chernick is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Mackey faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison, and a fine of up to $250,000. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.