BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The co-founder of Bellingham’s Naked Bike Ride is facing felony charges of possessing child pornography.

42-year-old Zachary Robertson was arrested on March 10 after a search warrant uncovered explicit images of children on his laptop.

Court documents state that Robertson’s partner called police on March 6 when she came home to find him viewing what she believed to be child pornography.

He attempted to hide it by deleting the files before police arrived, but officers were able to seize the laptop before he could do so. Robertson told police that he was using the images as reference for a children’s book he wrote involving a child that runs around naked.

Officers found his claim suspicious because the book was published in 2020.

A search warrant was granted for Robertson’s laptop, where detectives found around 25 files containing explicit images of children.

Robertson was released on bail a day after his arrest. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and has a jury trial tentatively scheduled for April 27.

The Bellingham Herald was the first to report Robertson’s background as co-organizer and founder of the Naked Bike Ride, as well as his listing on the board of directors of the Cascadia Community Land Trust.