A Walla Walla woman has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for her fourth child pornography offense.
According to court documents, Monica Linker, age 32, of Walla Walla, Washington, was sentenced on October 21, 2021 after pleading guilty to Receipt of Child Pornography. Chief United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian sentenced Linker to 5 years in federal custody, to be followed by a 10- year term of court supervision after she is released.
Chief Judge Bastian calculated Linker’s sentencing range under the United States Sentencing Guidelines at more than 12 years – in part because this was Linker’s fourth child pornography offense – but exercised his discretion to depart downward to 5 years. Linker’s sentence is 8 years shorter than the 13-year sentence the United States recommended.
According to court documents, an FBI Special Agent went online in an undercover role to locate people in the community who were trading child pornography. The agent downloaded more than 80 videos of child pornography from Linker’s residence in Walla Walla, which led to a search warrant and the removal of all digital devices from her home. A forensic review confirmed significant child pornography evidence on her devices.
Then, approximately ten months later, FBI executed a second search warrant at Linker’s new residence, recovering new images of child pornography from Linker’s new digital devices. In all, FBI recovered a significant amount of child pornography, as well as other indicia of Linker’s sexual interest in children and technical sophistication. This evidence included peer-to-peer, cleaning, encryption, and hacking software, and a Japanese Anime child pornography comic book. FBI also found evidence that Linker had burned images of child pornography onto disks.
United States Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref condemned the exploitation of children: “The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington works closely with our local and federal partners to apprehend the most serious child exploitation offenders in our community. I commend the Walla Walla Police Department and the FBI, whose excellent investigation in this case has protected children by keeping a recidivist offender off the streets for years.”
Related Federal Cases
- Kenneth E. Henderson, Receipt of Child Pornography, GA, 2023 · Georgia
- Brian Caputo, Receipt and Distribution of Child Pornography, Califo… · Texas
- Tristan Shaw, Child Pornography Receipt, NY 2024 · New York
- Hugh Allen Russell, Receipt of Child Pornography, WA 2023 · Washington
- Roger Wheaten Webb, Receipt of Child Pornography, VA 2023 · Virginia
Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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