Washington man sentenced to 12 years for distributing images of child rape

TACOMA, Wash. — A former Vancouver, Washington, man was sentenced Friday to 12 years in federal prison for distributing pictures and videos of children being raped, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Vancouver Police Department.

Joseph Schesso, 36, who has already served three years in state prison for attempted child molestation, was arrested in 2011 after he came to the attention of law enforcement in Germany. According to court documents, German investigators discovered that someone in the United States, later identified as Schesso, was distributing child pornography through a file-sharing program. The information was passed from German authorities to HSI special agents who traced the computer's Internet protocol address to Schesso's Vancouver residence.

Investigators executed a search warrant at Schesso's home in June 2011 and discovered more than 3,100 images and 500 movie files of child pornography on his personal computers. An electronic media card for a digital camera was also recovered. A forensic examination of the media card revealed sexually explicit photos of a child surrounded by furniture and blankets in Schesso's home. HSI special agents were able to identify the child as someone who had previously visited Schesso's house.

Schesso was sentenced in November 2012 by a Clark County (Washington) Superior Court judge to 40 months to life in prison for attempted child molestation. His federal sentence will run consecutive to his state sentence, resulting in a total of 15 years in prison according to prosecutors. The sentencing comes after a lengthy series of appeals regarding search warrants executed in the case.

The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington.

This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 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 2013, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE 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.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

HSI is a founding member and current chair 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.