Paul Aaron Murray, Possession of Child Pornography, Washington 2022

A Spokane man was sentenced to 126 months in federal prison for Possession of Child Pornography.

On October 27, 2022, U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Paul Aaron Murray, 49, of Spokane, Washington, to 126 months in federal prison for Possession of Child Pornography. Murray pleaded guilty on March 28, 2022, the morning that trial in the case was scheduled to begin.

Judge Rice also ordered Murray to serve an additional five years on federal supervision after he is released from prison, and Murray will be required to pay $24,000 in restitution to victims and $5,000 to a fund set up for victims who may request restitution in the future. The devices Murray used to commit his crime were ordered forfeited by Judge Rice.

In announcing the sentence, Judge Rice referred to the material Murray collected as depicting the extreme abuse of infants and toddlers and the victimization of the most vulnerable members of our society.

According to court documents and proceedings, dating back to 2013, Murray had an interest in, downloaded, and viewed child pornography depicting very young children. In 2017, federal agents downloaded child pornography files from a computer traced to Defendant’s Spokane residence. Agents then obtained and executed a search warrant at Murray’s residence, seizing a number of Murray’s computers, phones, and storage media.

Investigators discovered over two million internet searches for child pornography using commonly used terms for such searches. This was in addition to hundreds of child pornography images, videos, and anti-forensic software used to delete files on Murray’s devices.

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, Vanessa R. Waldref, commended the dedication of the investigators and prosecutors who continued to investigate Defendant’s online criminal activity, even while the case was litigated for over four years and credited the substantial sentence to their diligence and pursuit of justice.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edwa/pr/spokane-man-sentenced-more-decade-federal-prison-possession-child-pornography