Oregon man found with more than 9,000 images of child pornography sentenced to 15 years

PORTLAND, Ore. - A convicted Oregon sex offender was sentenced Monday to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography charges stemming from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Kevin James Heasley, 42, of Portland, Ore., was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones. In addition to the jail time, Judge Jones ordered that the defendant, who has been in custody since his arrest in 2009, be subject to a lifetime of supervised release upon completion of his prison term.

At the sentencing hearing, the government emphasized the continuing harm of possession and distribution of child pornography. The court reviewed written statements submitted on behalf of five victims who were among the scores of children abused in the creation of the images Heasley possessed and distributed. Government documents show the defendant had more than 9,000 images of child pornography, many involving infants and toddlers, in his possession at the time of his arrest.

Heasley's offense came to light when Multnomah County probation officers contacted him at his home in 2009 to assess his compliance with the terms and conditions of his probation following his conviction seven years earlier in Multnomah County for sexual abuse and attempted sodomy. Those offenses involved a ten-year-old victim. Heasley, who was prohibited from associating with other sex offenders as part of his probation, was discovered in the company of Terence Lee Sundsmo, who was also on probation and had been twice convicted of sexually abusing a young child. Both men were arrested at the scene for violating the terms of their probation.

A forensic examination of digital media seized from Heasley and Sundsmo revealed the men had been exchanging thousands of still images and videos depicting the sadistic sexual abuse of prepubescent children, including infants and toddlers, over the three-month period prior to their arrest. In 2010, federal grand juries indicted Sundsmo and Heasley on federal child-pornography charges. Sundsmo pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in November 2010. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 8.

ICE HSI was joined in the investigation by the Portland Police Bureau. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Bounds.

The investigation is part of ICE's Operation Predator, a nationwide initiative to identify, investigate and arrest those who sexually exploit children, and the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood (PSC), which marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet.

As part of Operation Predator, ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.

Through PSC, the Department of Justice seeks to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For additional information on the PSC initiative, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.