Algona, Washington Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Possession and Distribution of Child Pornography

           An Algona, Washington man with a history of molesting young boys, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 18 years in prison and lifetime supervised release for distribution and possession of child pornography.  MICHAEL ALLEN DREYER, 59, was convicted of distribution of child pornography and possession of child pornography following a four day jury trial in September 2012.  DREYER has a May 2000 conviction for possession of child pornography and therefore faced a mandatory minimum 15 years in prison.  At sentencing Chief U.S. District Judge Marsha J. Pechman said, “People who create the market for child pornography are as guilty as those who took the photos, posed the children, and engaged in their physical abuse.”

            According to records filed in the case, DREYER most recently came to the attention of law enforcement during an investigation of child pornography distribution utilizing peer-to-peer file sharing software.  In April 2011, a federal investigator operating online was able to observe the files DREYER was sharing over the peer-to-peer network and saw images and videos of child pornography.  Investigators traced the internet protocol address to DREYER’s Algona, Washington home.  In July 2011, law enforcement served a search warrant at DREYER’s home, seizing a computer and other media storage devices.  DREYER has been in federal custody since April 2012.  DREYER was indicted by the grand jury in May 2012.  The forensic examination of his computer revealed that it contained more than 20 video files of child pornography and over 1,300 image files of child pornography.

            In May 2000, DREYER was sentenced to 27 months in prison for possession of child pornography.  DREYER had attempted to order child pornography from an undercover website operated by law enforcement.  When his home was searched, additional child pornography was found.  DREYER also admitted to molesting two young relatives in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and told agents he used child pornography as a release to satisfy his urges to molest children.

            In asking for a 25 year sentence, prosecutors wrote to the court that “The distribution and possession of child pornography feeds an industry that causes untold psychological, emotional, and mental trauma to the child victims.  As technology develops, and as use of the Internet to trade images of child pornography becomes increasingly widespread, more and more permanent records of child abuse are created and disseminated around the world, allowing for the continued victimization of the child depicted….  Defendant’s actions contributed to the demand for these horrific images of abuse.  Every participant in the chain--producer, distributor, consumer--sustains the market for these images, and each victim, whether identified or not, suffers not only when an image of him or her is created, but each and every time an image of him or her is viewed.”

            The case was investigated by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).

            The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Marci Ellsworth and Justin Arnold.

                                    Press contact for the U.S. Attorney’s Office is Emily Langlie at (206) 553-4110 or Emily.Langlie@usdoj.gov.