Richland sex offender sentenced to 15 years in prison for child pornography – Dailyfly

Richland, Washington – Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Gerald Alan Nott, 63, of Richland, Washington, was sentenced after pleading guilty to receiving child pornography. U.S. District Judge Mary K. Dimke imposed a sentence of 180 months (15 years) in prison, followed by lifetime probation.

According to court documents and information presented at sentencing, between December 2022 and March 2023, an investigator with the Southeast Regional Internet Crimes Against Children (SER-ICAC) developed information that Nott, a registered sex offender, was using the internet at his parents' home in Richland, Washington, to distribute child pornography. The more than 1,600 image and video files showed young children, including approximately one to four years old, being sexually abused.

On March 16, 2023, detectives executed a search warrant at the home where Nott had been accessing the internet. Nott told officers he feared police would come to talk to him, so he tried to delete the child pornography files from his tablet. Nott also admitted to hiding the tablet behind a closet. That same day, SER-ICAC officers executed a search warrant at Nott's Richland residence and seized a second tablet. A certified SER-ICAC forensic scientist examined both tablets and found more than 100 video and image files containing child pornography.

“This sentence serves as a stark reminder to Mr. Nott and others like him that crimes that exploit children cannot and will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Waldref. “Mr. Nott ignored the conditions of his release and used the Internet to view and distribute gruesome images of child abuse. However, thanks to the dedicated work of the Southeast Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and prosecutors in my office, we were able to hold Mr. Nott accountable and prevent him from continuing to victimize the most vulnerable among us.”

“HSI's determination to protect children from exploitation is unwavering,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer, who oversees HSI's operations in the Pacific Northwest. “This verdict is an important reminder of our relentless pursuit of justice for the youngest and most vulnerable victims. Every image he possessed represents the suffering of a child, and our work is driven by a deep commitment to ensuring these children are protected. We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to hold perpetrators accountable and prevent future abuse.”

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 by the Department of Justice in May 2006. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state, and local resources to better find, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children over the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov

This case was investigated by the Southeast Regional ICAC Task Force, which is comprised of Homeland Security Investigations and the Richland and Kennewick Police Departments. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Laurel Holland.