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Press Release

Medical Lake, Washington Man Sentenced to Twenty Years in Federal Prison for Production and Distribution of Child Pornography Images

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Washington

SPOKANE – Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that James Gene Poindexter, age 26, of Spokane, Washington, was sentenced today after having previously pleaded guilty on September 2, 2014 to Production and Distribution of Child Pornography. Senior United States District Court Judge Justin L. Quackenbush sentenced Poindexter to a twenty year term of imprisonment -- fifteen years for Production of Child Pornography and five years for Distribution of Child Pornography, to be served consecutively. Poindexter’s twenty year sentence of imprisonment will be followed by a life term of court supervision after he is released from Federal prison. Poindexter is required to register as a sex offender.

According to court records, in October and November 2013, Microsoft made three separate CyberTip reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. As a result, the Federal Bureau of Investigation determined that Poindexter had distributed child pornography images via the Internet. In March of 2014, a federal search warrant was executed at Poindexter’s residence in Medical Lake, Washington. Poindexter’s computer and cellular telephone were seized. A forensic examination of these electronic devices revealed that Poindexter was in possession of over 600 child pornography images. Poindexter confessed to the production of child pornography and to molesting several minors. As a result of this investigation, on September 25, 2014 Poindexter also pleaded guilty in Spokane County Superior Court to: Rape of a Child in the Third Degree; Third Degree Child Molestation; and Communication with a Minor for Immoral Purposes. Sentencing is scheduled for November 25, 2014 on these Washington State charges.

Michael C. Ormsby said, “I commend the outstanding investigative work in this case by the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and FBI. This egregious case is yet another example of the exemplary working partnership between state and federal law enforcement officers in the Eastern District of Washington. Make no mistake, the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Washington is and will continue to be committed to prosecuting aggressively and seeking appropriate punishment for child pornography crimes.”

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the United States Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

The Project Safe Childhood Initiative (“PSC”) has five major components:

  • Integrated federal, state, and local efforts to investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases, and to identify and rescue children;
  • Participation of PSC partners in coordinated national initiatives;
  • Increased federal enforcement in child pornography and enticement cases;
  • Training of federal, state, and local law enforcement agents; and
  • Community awareness and educational programs.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Stephanie J. Lister, an Assistant United States Attorney and PSC Coordinator for the Eastern District of Washington.

CR-14-00044-JLQ

Updated February 5, 2015