Kevin Lee Towner, 61, of Selah, Washington, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. The sentencing was handed down by United States District Judge Rebecca L. Pennell on August 21, 2025. Following his release from prison, Towner will be subject to ten years of supervised release.
Court documents indicate that law enforcement executed a search warrant at Towner’s residence on October 6, 2020. Investigators found electronic storage devices containing over 3,000 images depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Towner admitted to obtaining these images through peer-to-peer file sharing networks.
In addition to the prison term and supervised release, Judge Pennell ordered Towner to pay $45,000 in restitution to victims identified in the files he possessed. The court also imposed a $17,000 assessment under the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018 (AVAA). Funds collected through this act are distributed to victims as one-time payments based on the amount of restitution they have already received. An additional special penalty assessment of $5,000 was levied under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015. Money collected from this assessment supports Internet Crimes Against Children task forces and victim services programs related to human trafficking and child abuse.
“This sentence sends a powerful reminder to Mr. Towner and others like him: Crimes that exploit children cannot, and will not be tolerated,” stated U.S. Attorney Serrano. “Thanks to the dedicated work of the FBI and prosecutors from my office, we were able to hold Mr. Towner accountable and protect the most vulnerable among us.”
W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office stated, “Child sexual abuse material is extremely damaging to young people, especially because it is often repeatedly shared and can be nearly impossible to remove from the Internet. Mr. Towner was found to possess not just some but thousands of these graphic images, including of very young children, and he will now face the consequences of that conduct. The FBI is committed to protecting child victims by holding these kinds of predators accountable and showing them they cannot hide their illegal online activity.”
The case was part of Project Safe Childhood—a national Department of Justice initiative launched in May 2006—aimed at addressing child sexual exploitation and abuse through coordinated efforts among federal, state, and local agencies. More information about Project Safe Childhood is available at https://www.justice.gov/psc.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation into this case. Assistant United States Attorney Michael D. Murphy prosecuted it.
