Moses Lake Man Sentenced to Nine Years in Federal Prison for Receipt of Child Pornography

Spokane– Joseph H. Harrington, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced today that Daniel Lee Vadnais, age 53, of Moses Lake, Washington, was sentenced, after having previously pleaded guilty on May 25, 2017, to Receipt of Child Pornography. Chief United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Vadnais to a nine-year term of imprisonment, to be followed by a twenty- year term of court supervision after he is released from Federal prison. In addition, Vadnais agreed to forfeit to the United States the computers he used to receive child pornography images and videos. Upon release from prison, Vadnais will be required to register as a Sex Offender.

According to information disclosed during the court proceedings, between January 3, 2016 and April 6, 2016, an officer working undercover for the FBI in Rochester, New York, discovered that Vadnais was using peer to peer (P2P) file sharing to download images of child pornography over the internet. Special Agents from FBI obtained a federal search warrant that was executed on April 6, 2016 at Vadnais’s residence in Moses Lake, Washington. During the execution of the search warrant, Vadnais advised law enforcement that he had been using P2P software to download child pornography files. Law enforcement discovered Vadnais’ HP desktop computer contained over 300 child pornography images of child pornography.

Harrington said, “Prosecuting offenders who receive and possess child pornography is one of the priorities of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington. This Office will continue to prosecute aggressively and seek appropriate punishment for child pornography crimes. I commend the excellent work of the FBI Special Agents who investigated this case.”

This case was pursued 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 Investigations. The case was prosecuted by Stephanie J. Lister, an Assistant United States Attorney and PSC Coordinator for the Eastern District of Washington.