Former pediatric nurse caught with child pornography sentenced to 7 years

TACOMA, Wash. — A former pediatric intensive care nurse was sentenced Friday to seven years in prison and 10 years' supervised release for distribution and receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.

Bryan W. Corbitt, 44, of Washougal, was arrested last February, following an undercover probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington prosecuted the case. At the time of his arrest, Corbitt was working at Oregon Health & Science University's Doernbecher Childrens Hospital in Portland, Ore.

In November 2011, HSI special agents identified a suspect sharing thousands of child pornography over a peer-to-peer network using the screen name "Kidluver." Investigators traced the screen name and illegal online activity to Corbitt's residence.

According to court records, Corbitt took steps to cover his tracks by using special software to erase all traces of the illicit images from his computer. However, HSI forensics specialists still found 50 images that hadn't been deleted and were able to recover nearly 400 deleted images of child pornography. Several nude images found in Corbitt's possession were of children in a hospital setting. Prosecutors noted that Corbitt caused anguish among patients' parents, many of whom were grieving their child's death.

"This case is particularly egregious because the defendant, as a pediatric nurse, had a fundamental duty to protect children, but instead he chose to exploit them through his consumption of Internet child pornography," said Brad Bench, special agent in charge of HSI Seattle. "Every day, HSI special agents work tirelessly to seek justice on behalf of child sex abuse victims by tracking down consumers and producers of child pornography."

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

HSI is a founding member and the U.S. representative of the Virtual Global Taskforce,  an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.