Home Seattle Press Releases 2009 Mukilteo Senior Citizen Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Distributing Child Pornography
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Mukilteo Senior Citizen Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Distributing Child Pornography
Even After a Warning Visit from Law Enforcement, Man Continued to Download and Send Child Porn

U.S. Attorney’s Office May 01, 2009
  • Western District of Washington (206) 553-7970

DEE NEIL OBEE, 71, of Mukilteo, Washington, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to five years in prison and five years of supervised release for distribution of child pornography. OBEE was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour.

According to records filed in the case, OBEE first came to the attention of law enforcement in 2006 as part of an investigation into an online chat room involved in the trading of child pornography. In the course of the investigation an undercover FBI agent posted that he had photos of the sexual abuse of a 4-year-old girl. No such photos existed, but OBEE responded that he was interested in downloading those images.  In February of 2007, following that on-line exchange, OBEE was contacted by FBI agents. OBEE told the agents that he did download child pornography and deleted the images after he viewed them. A review of OBEE’s computer at that time showed a small number of images. Given OBEE’s age and the small number of images, the case was not prosecuted federally. However, about a year later OBEE initiated an online chat with an undercover agent in Detroit who was posing as the mother of two minor girls. OBEE sent the agent images of child pornography as well as inappropriate images of himself. OBEE claimed during the online chats to have molested young relatives. A search warrant was served on OBEE’s computer and a small amount of child porn was recovered. OBEE was charged initially with distribution of child pornography in Detroit. The case was transferred to Washington for resolution, and OBEE pleaded guilty on March 27, 2008.

In asking for the mandatory minimum five year sentence, Assistant United States Attorney Vince Lombardi wrote to the court that OBEE  “is a compulsive viewer and distributor of child pornography, and the facts of this case make it clear that he will re-offend if given the opportunity.  Defendant was contacted by the FBI in 2007, and found in possession of a small amount of child pornography.  He admitted that what he was doing was wrong, and said he would get help...Most people would take the hint, count their blessings, and stop committing this particular offense. Not Defendant. Instead, he continued to seek out child pornography, and even distributed it to a third party.”

OBEE claims that his statements about molesting young relatives were just fantasies. OBEE’s family members refused to cooperate with the investigation, so the truth of those statements could not be determined.

The case was investigated by the FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Vince Lombardi.

For additional information please contact Emily Langlie, Public Affairs Officer for the United States Attorney’s Office, at (206) 553-4110 or Emily.Langlie@USDOJ.Gov.

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