Former Waipahu Man Sentenced To 30 Years In Prison For Producing Child Pornography

HONOLULU -- Derek West, 33, formerly of Waipahu, Hawaii, was sentenced yesterday to 30 years in prison for producing child pornography. West, who had previously pled guilty to the offense, must also serve a lifetime term of supervised release following his jail term.

Florence T. Nakakuni, United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said that according to a December 16, 2014 complaint, the case began with a report to the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) that child pornography had been found on West’s cellular telephone. HPD detectives obtained a search warrant for the telephone, and found approximately 482 images that depicted children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. HPD detectives then contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). FBI and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents later determined that 52 of the images were of a two year- old girl, some of which showed her engaged in sexual acts with West. During court proceedings, West admitted taking those pictures and sharing them over the internet.

In imposing the maximum terms of imprisonment and supervised release, United States District Judge Derrick K. Watson noted that the damage done to the two year-old victim was "immeasurable and enduring." West has been in custody since his arrest on December 16, 2014.

The case was investigated by the FBI, HSI, and HPD. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Tong.