RICHARD FLORES, 58, of Seattle, Washington, pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in Seattle to distribution of child pornography.  Because FLORES has a prior conviction for communicating with a minor for immoral purposes, he faces a mandatory minimum 15 years in prison when sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones on February 10, 2012.

            According to the plea agreement, FLORES was employed by the Seattle Times as a clerk in their finance department.  FLORES admitted that in February and March 2011, while at work, he downloaded child pornography onto his work computer.  FLORES transferred the child pornography to an external thumb drive and later distributed the child pornography using his Yahoo Flickr account.  Law enforcement found about 6,800 images and videos on the thumb drive.  FLORES has a 1997 conviction related to the molestation of two young relatives.

            FLORES was terminated by the Seattle Times shortly after detectives followed up on information from the internet service provider about the explicit materials downloaded to FLORES’s work computer. 

            Under the terms of the plea agreement, FLORES must register as a sex offender when released from prison.

            This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.  

            The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jerrod Patterson.  Mr. Patterson coordinates Project Safe Childhood for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.Return to Top