RICHLAND, Wash.-A 63-year-old Richland man will spend 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to child sex abuse material charges.
Gerald Alan Nott, a registered sex offender, will also be under supervised release for the rest of his life after serving his prison sentence.
“This sentence sends a powerful reminder to Mr. Nott and others like him: Crimes that exploit children cannot, and will not be tolerated,” stated U.S. Attorney Waldref.
According to court documents, Nott used the internet at his parent’s home in Richland to distribute child sex abuse material.
A Southeast Regional Internet Crimes Against Children (SER-ICAC) detective developed information that Nott was dealing in child sex abuse material and a search warrant was executed at his parent’s home in March 2023.
According to the Department of Justice, over 1600 image and video files depicting young children being sexually abused were recovered at the home.
Nott reportedly admitted to Detectives that he thought they may be coming to talk to him so he tried to delete the files and hid his tablet behind a cabinet.
A forensic examiner investigated two tablets recovered under the search warrant and found over 100 videos and images of child sex abuse material.
According to the Department of Justice, Nott’s case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide effort to stop the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the DOJ.
“We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to hold offenders accountable and prevent future abuse,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer, who oversees HSI operations in the Pacific Northwest.
