Washington man receives 15 years in child pornography case
Defendant’s extensive collection included images of child rape
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. – A Mount Vernon, Wash., man was sentenced in federal court Friday to 15 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for possession and distribution of child pornography, as a result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Eric Bongiorni, 32, was arrested by HSI Blaine special agents in March 2016 after a court-authorized search warrant revealed numerous images and videos of child sexual abuse on his electronic devices.
According to court documents, an undercover HSI special agent downloaded child pornography in February 2016 that was shared over a peer-to-peer file sharing network linked to the IP address belonging to Bongiorni. The subsequent law enforcement investigation disclosed Bongiorni is a registered sex offender with a 2009 conviction in Skagit County Superior Court for three counts of child molestation.
Bongiorni pleaded guilty in February admitting to collecting child pornography since 2003. One device seized from his home contained 436 images and 267 videos of child pornography
“The exhaustive efforts of our HSI investigators halted a repeat offender from indulging in continuous criminal activity targeting innocent children,” said Brad Bench, special agent in charge of HSI Seattle. “The collaborative work in partnership with local law enforcement garnered a successful prosecution reiterating our combined commitment to safeguarding Washington’s youth.”
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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