Skip to main content
Press Release

Registered Sex Offender sentenced to 10 years in prison for possession of images of child sexual abuse

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Washington
Defendant who raped 11-year-old child, found with child sexual abuse images after more than 10 years in prison and deviancy treatment

Seattle –A 53-year-old Des Moines, Washington, man, who is a registered sex offender, was sentenced today to ten years in prison for possession of images of child sexual abuse, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Edward James Creed was on Washington State Department of Corrections supervision when he was found to have unapproved electronic devices in his residence and images of child sexual abuse on his phone. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Kymberly K. Evanson said, “creating a market for this material perpetuates the horrific abuse of children.”

According to records filed in the case, Creed previously served more than ten years in state custody for a 2008 Kitsap County conviction for rape of a child. He was released in 2017 but was returned to custody for a time in 2019. In March of 2024, community corrections review of his phone revealed that he had collected seventy images of child sexual abuse. After his arrest, a search of his room at the sex offender residence revealed that he had a number of unapproved electronic devices.

In asking for the ten year sentence Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson wrote to the court, “In light of the defendant’s demonstrated sexualized interest in minors, it bears repeating that it is exceedingly troubling Creed successfully completed a sexual deviancy treatment program in prison and after two relatively short periods of time in the community was caught seeking out (2020) or successfully obtaining (2024) child sexual abuse material and unlawfully accessing the internet to do so…. He has proven history of deceiving those tasked with monitoring him in the community and has demonstrated a significant commitment to do so.”

Judge Evanson ordered Creed to be on 15 years of supervised release to follow prison.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Washington State Department of Corrections.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson.

This case was also brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.

Contact

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

Updated December 20, 2024

Topic
Project Safe Childhood