Childcare Worker Sentenced to 6+ Years in Prison for Possession of Images of Child Rape

          A childcare worker was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 78 months in prison and 15 years of supervised release for possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. KYLE J. TATE, 34, of Seattle was arrested in May 2016 and pleaded guilty in November 2016. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones noted that TATE had sought “nearness to children…. This is not a silent crime,” the Judge said, “because of the damage to victims and their families.”

          “This defendant made a point of working with children and lulling parents and employers into trusting him – and then betrayed that trust,” said U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “This conviction and sentence will provide protection for our communities. Not only will Mr. Tate spend time in prison, when he gets out he will be subject to federal monitoring for 15 years, and will be required to register as a sex offender.”

          According to records filed in the case, TATE came to the attention of law enforcement when another individual implicated him in the collection and sharing of child pornography. Due to TATE’s employment in childcare, investigators moved quickly to get a warrant to search his home and digital devices. Those devices contained more than 5600 images and 627 videos showing children, including infants, being sexually molested and abused. At the time of his arrest TATE worked at the Hutch Kids Childcare Center – and had been responsible for the infant care room for nearly five years. Previously he worked as a Sunday school teacher, as a teacher at KinderCare and as a care provider at the YMCA.

          The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Seattle Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC).

          The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U. S. Attorney Cecelia Gregson. Ms. Gregson is a Senior Deputy King County Prosecutor specially designated to prosecute child exploitation cases in federal court.