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Press Release

Spokane Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Production of Child Pornography

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Washington

Spokane – Today, Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Nicholas William Soto, age 27, of Spokane, Washington was sentenced after having previously pleaded guilty on January 13, 2015 to Production of Child Pornography. United States District Court Judge Salvador Mendoza, Jr. sentenced Soto to a 15 year term of imprisonment. Soto’s term of imprisonment will be followed by a 15 year term of court supervision after he is released from federal prison. In addition, Soto will be required to register as a sex offender.

According to court records, on August 8, 2014, Department of Homeland Security Special Agents executed a federal search warrant at Soto’s residence in Spokane, Washington. The federal search warrant was based on the prior discovery of a child pornography image posted on a foreign website. During a recorded interview, Soto admitted to federal agents that he had produced a child pornography image of himself engaged in a sex act with a female-child-victim and posted that image online. Soto is also expected to plead guilty in Spokane County Superior Court to Rape of Child in the First Degree.

Michael C. Ormsby said “I commend the outstanding investigative work in this case by the Department of Homeland Security. This is an egregious case that requires the severe punishment imposed by the Court today. The United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Washington is committed to aggressively prosecuting and seeking appropriate punishment for crimes against children.”

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 Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a component of the Department of Homeland Security,. The case was prosecuted by James A. Goeke, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.

Updated April 29, 2015

Press Release Number: 2:14-CR-00110-SMJ