MATTHEW CHASE KEYES, 37, of Seattle, Washington, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 210 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for production of child pornography and distribution of child pornography. The investigation revealed that KEYES had molested and videotaped a young boy who was visiting his nephew. At sentencing U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez said, “every time this material is distributed, it is an ongoing re-victimization of that child.”

KEYES came to the attention of law enforcement in April 2010, as part of an investigation into peer-to- peer file sharing of child pornography. After the investigation traced the distribution of child pornography to KEYES’s internet protocol address, investigators with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement executed a search warrant at KEYES’s home. Agents seized a variety of digital equipment for forensic examination. KEYES denied to agents that he had been involved in any hands-on molestation. However, a review of the deleted files on one of KEYES’s video cameras revealed two instances showing KEYES molesting young boys. In one instance the child is asleep; in the other, the child appears to be drugged. KEYES’s mother identified one of the children as a boy who had visited her young grandson.

At the sentencing hearing the parents of one young victim described the horror of learning their son had been molested in the home of a family they had trusted to keep him safe. “I feel like I failed to protect my son from such a beast,” the victim’s father told the court. “What kind of person harms a little child,” the victim’s mother said. “I feel like he will harm more kids.”

“We cannot restore the innocence and trust the defendant stole from his victims, but today’s sentence acknowledges the harm of his acts and seeks to ensure he never hurts another child,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.

“This defendant repeatedly victimized innocent children through the manufacture and distribution of sexually explicit video and still images. A lengthy prison sentence sends a strong message that this abhorrent behavior will be met with a strong and decisive response,” said Leigh Winchell, special agent in charge of HSI in Seattle. “We are grateful for the relationships we have with our international law enforcement partners who provided the lead in this case and resulted in the removal of this child predator from the community.”

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Marci Ellsworth. Ms. Ellsworth is an attorney with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, specially designated to prosecute cases in federal court.

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