Thaindian News

Prior Convictions Mean Sex Predators Face Mandatory Minimum Ten Year Prison Terms

Seven residents of the Washington State Special Commitment Center were arrested this morning and transferred to federal custody following the return of indictments charging them with Possession of Child Pornography. All seven residents will make their initial appearances on the charges at 2:30 this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Seattle. The indictments were returned following a two year investigation of contraband making its way into the institution. In all, ten residents have been charged – nine for possession of child porn, and one for drug trafficking.

“We cannot allow these sex offenders to be part of the market for horrific pictures of child sexual abuse,” said U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Sullivan. “With these indictments we are putting the residents at the SCC, and anyone who is assisting them in obtaining child pornography, on notice that they will be prosecuted. For the predatory sex offenders at the SCC, a conviction means a mandatory minimum ten years in federal prison.”

The seven residents of the SCC who were indicted yesterday by the grand jury are:

1) DAVID T. FAIR, 43, convicted in Kitsap County of Child Molestation in 1988.
2) DONALD GENE GAMER, 62, convicted of sex crimes in King, Pierce and Thurston Counties in 1974, 1980, 1990 and 1994.
3) ALFRED E. KISTENMACHER, 68, convicted of Rape of a Child in Lewis County, 1996.
4) KEITH JONATHON ROGERS, 69, convicted of sex crimes in Walla Walla and Pierce Counties, as well as Alaska, in 1961, 1966, 1972, 1984.
5) ROBERT WHITNEY SHEAFFER, 65, convicted of sex crimes in King and Pierce Counties in 1962, 1978, and 2007.
6) JOHN LEONARD STRAND, 50, convicted in Clallam County of Child Molestation in 1993.
7) BARRY LEWIS TAYLOR, 57, convicted of sex crimes in King and Pierce Counties in 1996 and 2005.

All seven defendants face a mandatory minimum ten years to twenty years in prison if convicted. The charges contained in the indictments are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Over the last year, three additional residents have been indicted for contraband. SCC resident LAWRENCE WILLIAMS, 50, was charged in August 2008, with Conspiracy to Distribute Crack Cocaine. JOHN MICHAEL OBERT, 50, was indicted in December 2007, and pleaded guilty February 26, 2009, to Possession of Child Pornography. He is scheduled for sentencing in October 2009. WILLIAM C. ENRIGHT, 46 , was indicted in July 2009, for Possession of Child Pornography. He is scheduled for trial in November 2009.

The smuggling of contraband into the SCC is being investigated by a task force of agents from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the FBI and the Washington State Patrol. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jill Otake, Bruce Miyake, and Marc Perez.