Spokane, Washington – Craig A. Morgenstern, age 47, of Nine Mile Falls, Washington was sentenced to 12 life terms in federal prison after a jury found him guilty of 12 counts of Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child.
- Senior United States District Judge W. Fremming Nielsen also imposed a 30-year term of imprisonment for each of Morgenstern’s 18 convictions for Production and Attempted Production of Child Pornography
- Also sentenced to a 20-year term of imprisonment for Morgenstern’s two convictions for Travel with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Contact with a Minor
- Also sentenced to a 20-year term of imprisonment for Morgenstern’s conviction for Receipt of Child Pornography
- According to evidence introduced at trial, Morgenstern sexually assaulted six young boys and produced child pornography images of the assaults from 2008 through 2014
- The victims ranged in age from 7 to 15 years old at the time of the assaults
- Evidence also established that Morgenstern would incapacitate his victims using drugs so that the victims were unaware of the sexual abuse and so that Morgenstern to continue his crimes and avoid detection
- Morgenstern’s crimes were discovered after one of his victims, then a minor child less than 14 years old, escaped from the Morgenstern’s residence in Stevens County on October 18, 2014 after awaking to Morgenstern sexually assaulting him during the early morning hours
Michael C. Ormsby said “Morgenstern is every parent’s nightmare. Morgenstern preyed on families by grooming both the parents and children into trusting him so that he could be alone with his victims. Once alone with his victims he would drug them, sexually molest them and produce graphic images and videos of his molestation of the victims. The trauma associated with Morgenstern’s actions cannot be overstated and the damage caused by the Morgenstern to the victims by his sexual exploitation of them and breach of their trust is immeasurable.”
- The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office
- The case was prosecuted by Stephanie J. Lister and James A. Goeke, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the Eastern District of Washington