Walla Walla Woman Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison After Fourth Child Pornography Offense | USAO-EDWA

Spokane – Vanessa R. Waldref, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington announced that Monica Linker, 32, of Walla Walla, Washington, was convicted on October 21, 2021 after she was guilty of receiving child pornography had known. United States chief district judge Stanley A. Bastian sentenced Linker to 5 years of federal custody, followed by a 10-year term of judicial oversight after she was released. Chief Judge Bastian calculated Linker’s sentence under the United States Sentencing Guidelines to be more than 12 years – in part because this was Linker’s fourth child pornography offense – but exercised his discretion to lower it to 5 years. Linker’s sentence is 8 years less than the United States’ recommended 13-year sentence.

According to court documents, an FBI special agent went online in an undercover role to track down people in the community who were dealing in child pornography. The agent downloaded more than 80 videos of child pornography from Linker’s Walla Walla apartment, resulting in a search warrant and the removal of all digital devices from her home. A forensic review confirmed significant evidence of child pornography on their devices. Then, about ten months later, the FBI executed a second search warrant of Linker’s new residence and found new images of child pornography from Linker’s new digital devices. Overall, the FBI has recovered a significant amount of child pornography, as well as other indications of Linker’s sexual interest in children and technical sophistication. That evidence included peer-to-peer, cleaning, encryption, and hacking software, as well as a Japanese anime child pornography comic. The FBI also found evidence that Linker burned images of child pornography onto floppy disks. When the FBI found Linker online, she had committed three child pornography offenses under Washington law. In fact, she was under the supervision of the Washington Department of Justice when the FBI downloaded child pornography from her. In previous searches of Linker’s home, officers found 25 pairs of girls’ panties, anime books and videos, anime pornography and a book on child gynecology.

US Attorney Waldref condemned child exploitation:

“The District Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington is working closely with our local and state partners to arrest the worst child exploitation offenders in our community. I commend the Walla Walla Police Department and the FBI, whose excellent investigations into this case protected children by keeping a recidivist off the streets for years. Unfortunately, there is a whole community of people using the internet to collect and share crime scene photos of child abuse for their own sexual satisfaction. These images often wander the internet forever, ensuring that victims of child pornography are never truly free. For those who use peer-to-peer networks to exploit children while trying to evade detection by law enforcement, today’s ruling draws your attention: undercover FBI agents are online any time of the day or night and looking for child pornography offenders. We will continue to pursue child exploitation as vigorously as the law allows. I encourage anyone who sees or suspects any form of child abuse to contact law enforcement immediately. “

Donald Voiret, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle Division, which includes the Spokane, Walla Walla, and Yakima areas, said, “Ms. Linker is a repeat offender who obviously hasn’t learned her lesson from her previous convictions. Her urge to participate in this activity, even though she was aware of the law enforcement scrutiny, shows the importance of keeping her away from the children in our communities. “

This case was pursued through Project Safe Childhood (“PSC”), a state-wide US Department of Justice initiative launched in May 2006 to tackle the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Under the direction of the U.S. Attorney General’s Office and the Criminal Investigation Department’s Department of Child Exploitation and Obscenity, Project Safe Childhood provides state, state, and local resources to find, arrest, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children and victims identify and save. PSC has five main components:

ꞏ Integrated efforts at the federal, state and local levels to investigate and prosecute cases of child exploitation,

and to identify and rescue children;

ꞏ participation of PSC partners in coordinated national initiatives;

ꞏ Enhanced federal enforcement of child pornography and seduction cases;

ꞏ Training of law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, and local levels; and

ꞏ Community awareness and educational programs.

More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.usdoj.gov/psc. For information on cyber security training, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click the Resources tab.

Detective (AR) Tim Hollingsworth led the investigation for the Walla Walla Police Department and Special Agent (AD) Lee McEuen led the investigation for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. David M. Herzog, U.S. Assistant Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, is pursuing the case.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edwa/pr/walla-walla-woman-sentenced-five-years-federal-prison-after-fourth-child-pornography