This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com
A 53-year-old registered sex offender from Des Moines, Washington, was sentenced to ten years in prison for possessing images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman announced Friday. Edward James Creed was under Washington State Department of Corrections supervision when authorities discovered unapproved electronic devices and child sexual abuse images on his phone.
U.S. District Judge Kymberly Evanson emphasized the impact of such crimes, stating, “Creating a market for this material perpetuates the horrific abuse of children.”
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Creed had previously served over ten years for a 2008 conviction for raping a child in Kitsap County. Released in 2017, he was briefly returned to custody in 2019. In March 2024, a review of his phone by community corrections officers revealed seventy images of child sexual abuse. A subsequent search of his residence uncovered additional unapproved electronic devices.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cecelia Gregson, advocating for the ten-year sentence, highlighted Creed’s ongoing risk to minors, noting his completion of a sexual deviancy treatment program and subsequent offenses. “It is exceedingly troubling that Creed, after two relatively short periods in the community, was caught seeking out or obtaining child sexual abuse material and unlawfully accessing the internet,” Gregson wrote.
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Judge Evanson also imposed 15 years of supervised release following Creed’s prison term.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Washington State Department of Corrections and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cecelia Gregson.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
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