SEATTLE, WA – Phillip Steven Allen, 58, of Mill Creek, Washington, will spend the next 22 years behind bars for the horrific production and distribution of child pornography. The sentence, handed down today in U.S. District Court, reflects the gravity of Allen’s crimes – a betrayal of trust and a permanent violation of vulnerable victims.
U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan minced no words, stating, “This defendant molested young relatives, and then victimized them again by distributing sexually explicit images of them to others via the internet.” She added, “It is hard to imagine more depraved conduct, which will haunt these young children for years to come. This defendant has fully earned this 22 year prison term.” Judge Richard A. Jones echoed these sentiments, telling Allen he had “grossly violated the trust” of his young victims and “permanently placed in the stream of commerce the images of these young children.”
The investigation began in 2010 with a search warrant served in Bloomington, Indiana, targeting an individual distributing child pornography. Investigators traced a digital trail leading to an email address in Mill Creek, Washington – an address ultimately linked to Phillip Steven Allen. A subsequent raid on Allen’s residence in July 2011 uncovered a computer and two external hard drives containing deeply disturbing imagery. The victims? Allen’s own relatives.
The depravity didn’t stop there. Law enforcement discovered that images of these children had surfaced in three separate investigations of child pornography possession across the country, demonstrating Allen’s deliberate and widespread distribution of the abuse. He wasn’t simply possessing the material; he was actively spreading it, amplifying the harm inflicted on his victims.
This case was prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 aimed at combating the escalating epidemic of child sexual exploitation. The project brings together federal, state, and local resources to identify, apprehend, and prosecute predators like Allen, and to rescue the children they victimize. Information on Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The investigation was spearheaded by the FBI, with the prosecution skillfully handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jerrod C. Patterson, who also serves as the Project Safe Childhood coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Allen will also face a lifetime of supervised release following his 22-year sentence, a small measure of accountability for a lifetime of unimaginable harm.
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Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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