Newport Man Sentenced to Fifteen Years in Federal Prison for Possession of Child Pornography and Failure to Register as a Sex Offender

Spokane – Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that James Russell Bradbury, age 55, of Newport, Washington, was sentenced today, after having previously pled guilty on July 2, 2015 to Possession of Child Pornography and Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. Senior United States District Court Judge Justin L. Quackenbush sentenced Bradbury to a five year term of imprisonment for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender, and a ten year term of imprisonment for Possession of Child Pornography, to be served consecutively, for a total of fifteen years imprisonment, to be followed by a life term of court supervision after he is released from federal prison. In addition, Bradbury was ordered to forfeit to the United States the cell phone that he used to receive and possess child pornography. Bradbury will be required to register as a sex offender.

According to information disclosed during the court proceedings, in 2005 Bradbury was convicted in the Western District of Washington for offenses relating to the sexual exploitation of children. Bradbury was sentenced to ten years imprisonment and required to register as a sex offender after he was released from prison. In 2014, while Bradbury was on supervised release in Utah, he fled from Utah and on February 12, 2015 was arrested by the Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Department in Newport, WA. Further investigation by the United States Marshal revealed that Bradbury was not registered as a sex offender in Pend Oreille County, Newport, WA. In addition, investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation discovered that at the time of Bradbury’s arrest in Newport he was in possession of a cell phone that contained images of child pornography, some of the images were of children under the age of 12 and portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct.

Michael C. Ormsby stated, “I commend the excellent work of this office’s law enforcement partners from Pend Oreille County, the FBI, and the U.S. Marshals Service. As I have stated publically many times, 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. In addition, prosecuting offenders who failure to register as sex offenders is a top priorities of the United States Attorney’s Office.”

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.justice.gov/psc . For information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

This investigation was conducted the United States Marshall, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Department. The case was prosecuted by Matthew F. Duggan and Stephanie J. Lister, Assistant United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Washington.