Convicted child molester receives 18 years for receipt, possession of child pornography
SEATTLE – A former Oregon man previously convicted of sexually molesting a 6-year-old girl was sentenced Monday to 18 years in prison and lifetime supervised release for receiving and possessing child pornography, following a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
John Everett Kamph, 42, of Seattle, first caught the attention of law enforcement when his internet service provider and email were linked to the receipt of child sexual abuse images. Further investigation revealed that Kamph had produced a video using his dog to attract young children in what appears to be a Seattle park. Kamph was positioning dog treats and his camera to focus on the children’s underwear.
“The egregiousness of this crime is inconceivable,” said Steve Cagen, acting special agent in charge of HSI Seattle. “The work of our highly-skilled investigators was instrumental in putting Kamph behind bars again and shows our commitment to protect innocent children from falling prey to likeminded criminals in the future.”
Kamph has a history of sex crimes including the 1997 conviction in Oregon for sexual abuse of a minor. Kamph was arrested in Seattle in September 2015 and had failed to register as a sex offender as required by law due to his previous conviction.
Prior to his incarceration, Kamph lived in an RV in the upper parking lot at Seattle’s Woodland Park and was working at a restaurant at the north end of Lake Union.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington prosecuted the case.
The charges in this case are a product of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, and HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators.
Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.
Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.
For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.
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