EVERETT — A Snohomish County man pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Seattle to producing images of child sexual abuse and attempted enticement of minors, U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman announced in a press release.
Bennett S. Park, 43, is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo S. Martinez on April 25. The federal complaint did not specify where Park was from in Snohomish County.
In April 2023, Park responded to an online advertisement placed by an undercover Homeland Security Investigation agent, falsely claiming that the agent had two young children that could be molested, according to court documents.
In his response, Park said that he was actively molesting children between the ages of 11 and 17. Park allegedly told the agent he wanted to molest the agent’s fictional children but was already meeting a 13-year-old, the release said. Law enforcement quickly put Park under surveillance to identify and protect the 13-year-old. Around 1:45 a.m. Aug. 8, 2023, law enforcement arrested Park immediately after the 13-year-old got in his vehicle.
After Park’s arrest, a review of his electronic devices showed he had communicated with dozens of minors. Twenty-three of the minor victims were identified, court documents said. Park had convinced them to provide images of sexual abuse via Instagram, Discord, Snapchat, Facebook, Gmail and Zoom platforms. In the plea agreement, Park detailed his crimes with eight minor victims.
Production of child pornography is punishable by a mandatory minimum 15 years in prison and up to 30 years in prison. Attempted enticement of a minor is punishable by a mandatory minimum 10 years in prison and up to life in prison.
At his sentencing, prosecutors will recommend no more than 25 years in prison, and the defense will recommend no less than 20 years. Judge Martinez is not bound by the recommendations.
This case was also brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit justice.gov/psc.
Michael Henneke: 425-339-3431; michael.henneke@heraldnet.com; X: @ihenpecked.
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