Portland, Ore. – On November 26, 2007, U.S. District Court Judge Michael W. Mosman sentenced Frank Don Villa, age 42, from Aloha, Oregon, to 60 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography. Upon leaving prison, the defendant will be subject to three years of supervised release. Villa previously entered a plea of guilty to the charge of possession of child pornography on July 30, 2007.
The investigation began after the defendant’s girlfriend discovered images of child pornography on his computer and notified law enforcement authorities. On March 24, 2006, Villa was arrested at the Portland International Airport by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The investigation revealed that Villa had downloaded thousands of images of child pornography from the Internet, including pictures of a prepubescent minor or a minor under the age of twelve years as well as material that portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct and other depictions of violence.
Prior to imposing the 60 month sentence Judge Mosman noted that "[i]t's difficult to know what will deter someone in the future from surfing the net for pornography and then deviating into child pornography. But it takes, I think, a serious sentence . . . I believe that it takes a serious sentence to send a message to the community, the kind of message that might work some conceivable benefit towards drying up the industry.”
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
This case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Scott Kerin.
