A 33-year-old Federal Way man, VICTOR LARRY LEE WRIGHT, was sentenced today to 24 years in federal prison for producing and distributing grotesque videos of himself sexually assaulting a 7-year-old child. The sentence, handed down in U.S. District Court in Seattle, marks a grim milestone in a case that exposed a predator’s calculated abuse and digital trail of depravity.
WRIGHT pleaded guilty in August 2016 to federal charges of production and distribution of child pornography. He admitted to recording his own sexual assaults on the young victim and then sharing those files through a peer-to-peer network. U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes stated, “This defendant violated his young victim twice. First, via sexual assault, and second by distributing images of that depraved and horrific crime across the internet.”
The investigation began in April 2015 when a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent, operating undercover, detected WRIGHT sharing child pornography on a file-sharing network. The predator willingly provided the agent with a password to access a trove of illegal material, including videos and images of children being raped and molested. Forensic analysis of devices seized during a May 2015 search of WRIGHT’s Federal Way home confirmed he was the source — and perpetrator — in multiple files.
Hidden within the seized data were chilling chat logs in which WRIGHT discussed molesting the 7-year-old with other users. The forensic evidence left no doubt: WRIGHT had weaponized technology to not only commit but also broadcast his crimes. He has remained in custody since his arrest. Steve Cagen, special agent in charge of HSI Seattle, emphasized that the investigation did more than secure a conviction: “It identified a victim subject to Wright’s abuse — a critical step in delivering justice.”
In addition to his 24-year federal sentence, WRIGHT faces 26 and a half years in King County Superior Court after pleading guilty to rape of a child. The federal plea agreement mandates that he serve the state charges consecutively. U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour also imposed a lifetime term of federal supervision upon WRIGHT’s eventual release — a rare but necessary measure in cases involving predatory, recidivist behavior.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kate Vaughan and brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a Justice Department initiative launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation. The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Way Police Department, a collaboration that underscores the urgency of dismantling networks that enable child predators. For more on Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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