An Alaska man was sentenced to over 13 years in prison for running a group chat that distributed child pornography, according to the Department of Justice.
Walter William Onstad, 46, of Ketchikan, was sentenced to 13 years and 4 months in prison for distributing child pornography through a group messaging platform, the DOJ announced.
According to court documents, Onstad was an administrator of a messaging group known as ‘Anything Goes,’ which was used exclusively to exchange child pornography.
Court documents revealed that investigators with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a tip in April 2022 that Onstad had sent at least 12 images and videos of child pornography to another user through the messaging platform.
As the investigation continued, authorities found over 300 images and 40 videos of child sexual abuse on Onstad’s cell phone, which he admitted to possessing and distributing. The defendant admitted to being responsible for the possession and distribution of over 600 images, some of which depicted the sexual abuse of minors as young as infants and toddlers.
“Mr. Onstad contributed to the victimization of children by running a child sexual abuse material distribution chat and was responsible for sharing hundreds of images of innocent children,” said U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska.
U.S. Attorney Tucker emphasized the importance of holding individuals accountable for their crimes, saying, “We will continue to work with law enforcement to relentlessly pursue, arrest and prosecute individuals who traffic images of child sexual abuse and hold them responsible for the incalculable damage they’ve caused.”
Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office added, “Innocent children are revictimized each time CSAM is distributed. As an administrator of a CSAM distribution operation, Walter Onstad fueled a market that preys on our most vulnerable. No matter how they commit their crimes, those who sexually exploit children will be pursued and held accountable by the FBI and law enforcement partners, for justice and the safety of our children.”
The case was investigated by the Juneau Resident Agency of the FBI Anchorage Field Office, with assistance from the Ketchikan Police Department and North Carolina’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Schmidt prosecuted the case, which 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.
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.
Related Federal Cases
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Key Facts
- State: Alaska
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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