WASHINGTON — A 38-year-old man was sentenced last week to 25 years in prison for production and distribution of child pornography, federal authorities said.
Jonathan Scott Lee, of Kelso Washington, also admitted to taking sexually explicit images of an 11-year-old girl, according to officials.
“The production of child pornography—coupled with the physical sexual abuse of children—is a heinous crime with devastating, lifelong impacts on its victims,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. “Distributing the photos of these children being molested further victimizes them and warrants this significant prison sentence.”
Lee was arrested in October 2012 after he sent images of child pornography to an undercover officer working in New Zealand. Officials said Lee thought he was communicating with someone who could provide him additional images of child pornography.
Law enforcement was able to trace the photos to Lee and his camera. Police seized his computer and other media storage devices at his Kelso home, according to officials.
Authorities said images and videos of child pornography were found on Lee’s computer, an external hard drive, and his smartphone.
“Not only did the defendant abuse children, he shared his exploitation with predators around the world,” said Brad Bench, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Seattle. “HSI places a high priority on combating this despicable crime, not only to identify and rescue child victims, but to stop their re-victimization by individuals who view and distribute Internet child pornography.”