Yakima – Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that on March 11, 2011, Daniel Z. Mohrbacher, age 56, of Yakima, Washington, was sentenced to 120 months in prison for possession of child pornography. Daniel Z. Mohrbacher will be under federal court supervision for 10 years after he is released from custody. The Defendant was also ordered to pay $27,000 in restitution to three of the known victims depicted in the pornography.

During May 2008, Daniel Z. Mohrbacher communicated on-line with an undercover detective who was posing as a 13- year old girl. The on-line conversation eventually progressed to a sexually explicit conversation in which the Defendant provided sexually explicit photographs and videos. A special agent with the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tracked the Defendant to an apartment in Yakima, Washington. While the Defendant had been evicted for failure to pay rent, the case agent learned that the Defendant had abandoned several items at his apartment, including a laptop computer, hard drives, floppy disks, compact disks, VHS tapes, and DVD’s. The investigation recovered approximately 50 images of child pornography from some of the computer data.

In June 2009, ICE discovered the Defendant’s new residence and obtained a search warrant. At that time, agents seized computer equipment, compact disks, and DVD’s from the residence. The agents also obtained approximately 404 compact disks and DVD’s from the Defendant’s storage locker. A forensic review of the computers and electronic storage devices revealed approximately 3,229 images of child pornography and 22 movie files containing child pornography.

Michael C. Ormsby, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, said, “Sadly, the Internet can be a dangerous place for our children. Fortunately, our dedicated network of law enforcement officers is committed to uncovering these sexual predators and our office remains committed to seeking appropriate punishment.”

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

To report these crimes, visit www.cybertipline.com or call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s hotline at 1-800-843-5678.

This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement and was prosecuted by Tom Hanlon, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.

10-CR-2093-EFS

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