District man sentenced to 33 months for accessing child pornography

WASHINGTON – A Washington, D.C., man was sentenced to 33 months in prison Friday for accessing child pornography following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Brian Kampel, 44, pleaded guilty to the charges earlier this month in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Following his prison term, he will be placed on supervised release for the rest of his life. In addition, he will be required to register as a sex offender for 15 years following his release from prison and pay $39,000 in restitution to his victims.

HSI identified Kampel as part of a national investigation into a password-protected, fee-based website that advertised child sexual abuse material. The website advertised to users that they could access 600,000 images and 400 hours of video of child exploitation. Kampel paid to purchase and download child pornography in August 2017.

Following a search of Kampel’s residence in September 2019, law enforcement discovered a laptop computer with over 1,000 images depicting child sexual abuse, including exploitation of infants and toddlers. The forensic evidence in the case determined that Kampel had been accessing, downloading and possessing child pornography for more than eight years.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free tip line at 1-866-347-2423 or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.