Tukwila Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Production of Images of Child Rape

          A 40-yearold Tukwila, Washington resident was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 20 years in prison and 25 years of supervised release for production and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. JESSE LEE ALLEN, was arrested in November 2016, after a witness reported that she had seen videos of the molestation of a young child on ALLEN’s cell phone.  The witness made a report to Tukwila Police in October 2016 and ALLEN was located and arrested a few weeks later.  At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Zilly called child pornography a “plague on our community,” saying,” this was an incredibly terrible crime that was committed against a little girl.”

            According to records filed in the case, the witness was involved in a romantic relationship with ALLEN and at one point checked his phone to see if there were images of other women ALLEN might be dating.  The witness instead discovered three videos that showed the sexual molestation of a 6-year-old child.  The witness immediately went to police.

            ALLEN pleaded guilty to the charges March 8, 2018.

            The case was investigated by the Tukwila Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigation (HSI). 

          The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson. Ms. Gregson is a Senior Deputy King County Prosecutor specially designated to prosecute child exploitation cases in federal court.