Kennewick Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Receipt of Child Pornography

Spokane – Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Dan Richard Dickey, age 68, of Kennewick, Washington, was sentenced today, after having previously pled guilty on February 24, 2015 to Receipt of Child Pornography. Senior United States District Court Judge Edward F. Shea sentenced Dickey to a five year term of imprisonment, to be followed by a twenty year term of court supervision after he is released from Federal prison. In addition, Dickey was ordered to forfeit to the United States the computer equipment and digital media used to receive and store his child pornography collection and ordered to pay restitution to one of his victims in the amount of $5,500. Dickey was ordered to pay a fine of $10,000. Dickey will also be required to register as a sex offender.

According to information disclosed during the court proceedings, a Corrections Officer at the Walla Walla Penitentiary reported to the Kennewick Sheriff’s Office that Dickey was in possession of child pornography images. On November 27, 2012, Dickey was interviewed by Detectives from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office. Dickey admitted he had taken pictures of a minor female undressing using a pinhole camera that he had hidden in a bedroom of his Kennewick residence. On November 27, 2012, a state search warrant was obtained for Dickey’s Kennewick residence. Several computers and other digital devices were seized from Dickey’s residence and examined forensically. Law enforcement discovered Dickey had an extensive collection of child pornography which contained over 61,000 images of child pornography, some which depicted minor children in bondage, and included prepubescent female children under the age of twelve. A forensic examiner determined that Dickey had collected child pornography images from at least January of 2005 until the search warrant was executed at his residence on November 27, 2012.

Michael C. Ormsby stated, “The United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Washington is, and will continue to be, committed to prosecuting aggressively and seeking appropriate punishment for child pornography crimes. Investigating and prosecuting offenders who are collecting and making child pornography is a priority of the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the United States Attorney’s Office. I commend the outstanding investigative efforts and symbiotic partnership demonstrated by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI in this case.”

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the United States Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States 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 individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. The Project Safe Childhood Initiative (“PSC”) has five major components:

· Integrated federal, state, and local efforts to investigate and prosecute child

exploitation cases, and to identify and rescue children;

· Participation of PSC partners in coordinated national initiatives;

· Increased federal enforcement in child pornography and enticement cases;

· Training of federal, state, and local law enforcement agents; and

· Community awareness and educational programs.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Benton County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Stephanie J. Lister, an Assistant United States Attorney and PSC Coordinator for the Eastern District of Washington.