Arron D. Burton Sentenced to 17 Years for Molesting Toddler, Distri…

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA – ARRON D. BURTON, a former soldier with both Army and Marine service, will spend the next 17 years behind bars after being sentenced Monday for the horrific production and distribution of child pornography. U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle handed down the sentence, coupled with a lifetime of supervised release, following BURTON’s guilty plea in January 2014. The case lays bare the depravity that can fester even within the ranks of those sworn to protect.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, led by Jenny A. Durkan, revealed BURTON admitted to creating and disseminating a video depicting the molestation of a three-year-old child. The investigation began in late 2012 when BURTON, then stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), came under scrutiny due to his online distribution of the vile material. Law enforcement swiftly obtained and executed search warrants on his computers.

A forensic analysis of BURTON’s devices uncovered a sickening trove of abuse material: over 100 images and 27 videos of child pornography. The sheer volume of this content demonstrates a calculated and prolonged pattern of exploitation, not a momentary lapse in judgment. This wasn’t a casual act; it was a deliberate and disturbing obsession.

Assistant United States Attorney Francis Franze-Nakamura prosecuted the case, building a solid case based on the digital evidence recovered from BURTON’s computers. The FBI spearheaded the investigation, meticulously tracing the distribution network and connecting BURTON to the horrific content. Upon release from prison, BURTON will be legally required to register as a sex offender – a small measure of accountability for a monstrous crime.

This prosecution falls under the umbrella of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice. The project aims to aggressively combat the escalating epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. It’s a multi-agency effort, bringing together federal, state, and local resources to identify, apprehend, and prosecute predators like BURTON, and, crucially, to rescue the victims of their crimes.

Project Safe Childhood, led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), isn’t just about punishment. It’s about dismantling the networks that enable these abuses and protecting the most vulnerable members of our society. For more information on Project Safe Childhood and how to report suspected child exploitation, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.