Portland Man Sentenced in Child Pornography Case

PORTLAND, Ore. – A Portland man will spend six years in prison after pleading guilty to receiving child pornography. At a sentencing hearing held in federal court this morning, U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown sentenced Keith Henry Jordan, 53, to 72 months in prison followed by a five-year term of supervised release. Jordan will be subject to stringent conditions of supervision, including prohibitions on associating with minors, and restrictions on his use of computers. Jordan will also be required to participate in sex offender treatment, and must register as a sex offender.

U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall praised the sentence imposed on Jordan. “We as a society cannot and will not tolerate the sexual abuse and exploitation of children,” she said. “Every time someone uploads, downloads, trades, shares, or views images and videos of child sexual abuse, the children in those images are victimized all over again. By creating a demand for such images, those who collect them encourage the ongoing sexual abuse of children.” She added, “There is nothing innocent or harmless about collecting images depicting the sexual abuse of a child.”

The investigation began when a Clackamas County Sheriff’s detective, assigned to the Interagency Child Exploitation Prevention Team (“INTERCEPT”), learned that a computer user, later determined to be Jordan, was making images of child pornography available for download through a “peer-to-peer” file sharing program. INTERCEPT officers served a state search warrant at Jordan’s residence, then in Milwaukie, Oregon, and seized computer equipment and numerous compact discs. A forensic examination revealed that Jordan had almost 1300 images and over 200 videos graphically depicting the sexual abuse of very young children.

In imposing the sentence, Judge Brown described child pornography and the child pornography industry as an “abominable intrusion” into our society. She noted that it is “difficult” for the victims who appear in the images and videos “to ever have peace,” because the images and videos “can never be removed from the internet.” In determining the sentence, Judge Brown balanced the very serious nature of Jordan’s offense against his age, his lack of recent criminal history, and his health issues. Judge Brown expressed confidence that Jordan was not likely to re-offend following his release from prison.

Reading from a brief, prepared statement, Jordan apologized to the court and to the victims. He said he had “no idea” of the pain and suffering the victims continue to endure because the images of their abuse continue to circulate on the internet, but claimed that he understands now.

This case was investigated by the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, the INTERCEPT Task Force, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Gary Sussman, Project Safe Childhood Coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oregon.

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 and 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.