Mill Creek Man Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison for Production of Child Pornography

A 58-year-old Mill Creek, Washington man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 22 years in prison and lifetime supervised release for production of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  PHILLIP STEVEN ALLEN pleaded guilty December 21, 2012.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones told him, “You grossly violated the trust” of these young victims.  Judge Jones noted that ALLEN “permanently placed in the stream of commerce the images of these young children.”

“This defendant molested young relatives, and then victimized them again by distributing sexually explicit images of them to others via the internet,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “It is hard to imagine more depraved conduct, which will haunt these young children for years to come.  This defendant has fully earned this 22 year prison term.”

According to records filed in the case, ALLEN came to the attention of law enforcement in 2010, when they served a search warrant on a residence in Bloomington, Indiana.  The occupant of the home was being investigated for distribution of child pornography.  Investigators determined that the Indiana resident had sent child pornography to an email address in Mill Creek.  Further investigation linked the address to ALLEN.  In July 2011 agents served a search warrant at ALLEN’s address.  A computer and two external hard drives were analyzed.  Law enforcement found pornographic pictures on the devices of young children who are related to ALLEN.  The images have been found in three separate investigations of possession of child pornography across the country.

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 FBI.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jerrod C. Patterson.  Mr. Patterson is the Project Safe Childhood coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.