Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing Child Pornography

SPOKANE—Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Kyle Splattstoesser, age 43, of Ritzville, Washington, was sentenced after having previously pleaded guilty on May 14, 2013, to possession of child pornography. Senior United States District Court Judge Robert Whaley sentenced Splattstoesser to a 10-year term of imprisonment, to be followed by a life-term of court supervision after he is released from federal prison. Splattstoesser has a prior federal conviction in 2006 for possession of child pornography and is a registered sex offender.

According to information disclosed during the court proceedings, in March 2010, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Grant County Sheriff’s Office conducted an investigation of a mother using her children to produce images of child pornography. The mother, Pamela Ortega, plead guilty to three counts of rape of a minor and was sentenced in Washington State to 300 months’ imprisonment. As a result of the investigation into Ortega, law enforcement determined that one of the individuals she was communicating with about child pornography images was Kyle Splattstoesser. On April 29, 2011, the FBI executed a search warrant at Splattstoesser’s residence and ultimately located a laptop computer that contained images of child pornography.

Michael C. Ormsby stated, “The United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Washington continues to prosecute aggressively and seek appropriate punishment for child pornography crimes. The successful prosecution of this case is the direct result of the strong working partnership between federal and local law enforcement officers in the Eastern District of Washington.”

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 child victims
• 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
• 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 the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Grant 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.