Oregon Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Receipt and Possession of Images of Child Rape

          A man originally from the State of Oregon was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 18 years in prison and lifetime supervised release for receipt and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes.  JOHN EVERETT KAMPH, 42, has a prior conviction in Oregon for the sexual molestation of a 6-year-old girl.  That prior conviction results in a mandatory minimum fifteen-year prison term.  U.S. District Judge James L. Robart imposed an 18-year sentence saying he “needs to protect the public from the defendant.”

            According to records filed in the case, KAMPH came to the attention of law enforcement when his internet service provider linked KAMPH’s email account to the receipt of images of child sex abuse.  When the Seattle Police Department executed a court-authorized search warrant on KAMPH’s electronic devices, they found more than 600 images of child sexual abuse.  The investigation revealed that KAMPH had not produced those images, but he had produced a video using his dog to interact with young children.  In what appears to be a Seattle park, KAMPH uses his dog to attract young children and positions dog treats and the camera in such a way that he focuses on the children’s underwear. 

            KAMPH was arrested in Seattle in September 2015.  KAMPH had failed to register as a sex offender as required by law due to his 1997 conviction for sexual abuse of a minor.  He had been living in an RV in the upper parking lot at Seattle’s Woodland Park and was working at a restaurant at the north end of Lake Union.

          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. 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.justice.gov/psc. 

          The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) and the Seattle Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.  The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson.  Ms. Gregson is a Senior King County Deputy Prosecutor specially designated to prosecute child exploitation cases in federal court.