Vail Resident Sentenced to 11 Years for Child Exploitation Offenses

TUCSON, Ariz. – Stephen Patrick Luethy, 57, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced today by United States District Judge James Soto to 132 months in prison. Luethy previously pleaded guilty in October 2019 to Receipt of Child Pornography. 

In February 2019, Luethy was indicted after a federal investigation revealed he had been sending money to individuals in the Philippines in exchange for child exploitation materials. Luethy had asked multiple individuals to create videos depicting mutilation of children, in addition to child sex abuse videos. At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that videos depicting child mutilation were created in response to Luethy’s requests.

Upon release from prison, Luethy will be placed on lifetime supervised release with stringent sex offender conditions. He will also be required to register as a sex offender and to complete a sex offender treatment program. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tucson, conducted the investigation in this case. Carin C. Duryee, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:            CR 19-0340-TUC-JAS
RELEASE NUMBER:    2021-018_Luethy

# # #

For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/ 
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.