Seattle-area man receives 24 years for producing, distributing child pornography
Defendant faces concurrent state sentence for child rape
SEATTLE – A Federal Way man was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to 24 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for producing and distributing child pornography following a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Victor Larry Lee Wright, 33, pleaded guilty in August admitting he videotaped his molestation of a 7-year-old child. According to court records, Wright then distributed those images to an undercover HSI special agent via a peer-to-peer file sharing program. The investigator determined Wright’s files contained an extensive child pornography collection of the rape and molestation of multiple children.
Under the terms of Wright’s federal plea agreement, he will also plead guilty to raping a child and faces an additional 26 and a half years in state prison on that charge.
“This defendant violated his young victim twice. First, via sexual assault, and second by distributing images of that depraved and horrific crime across the internet,” said U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “I commend the work of law enforcement to identify and arrest this defendant, and the partnership between my office and the King County Prosecutor to ensure this defendant receives long federal and state prison sentences, and a lifetime of supervision for his crimes. Our kids deserve nothing less.”
In May 2015, Wright was arrested following a court authorized search of electronic devices at his residence. HSI forensic examiners discovered images of Wright sexually assaulting a 7-year-old child and chat messages from Wright discussing the molestation.
“The thorough investigative approach by our special agents not only helped secure an appropriate sentence today, but more importantly identified a victim subject to Wright’s abuse,” said Steve Cagen, special agent in charge of HSI Seattle. “Partnering with local law enforcement, we will continue steadfast in our efforts to rid all communities of likeminded child predators.”
The case was investigated in cooperation with the Federal Way Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Vaughan.
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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