TRI-CITIES, Wash. – A Tri-Cities man was sentenced to prison on Thu., March 14 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington (DOJ) after pleading guilty to knowingly receiving child pornography.
The DOJ says 54-year-old Larry Jay Halls’s sentence is 78 months, or six and a half years, in federal prison followed by ten years of supervised release and paying $12,000 in restitution.
Court documents say investigators with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) linked images and videos of child pornography on a file sharing program with an IP address that matched Halls’s Kennewick address in February 2021.
A search warrant on March 18, 2021 found a desktop computer that was actively downloading child pornography through the file sharing program.
A forensic analysis of the computer found over 600 photos and videos of child sexual abuse.
In an interview with investigators, Halls revealed that he had been downloading child pornography files since 2018.
While on pre-sentence release after his guilty plea, Halls violated court-ordered conditions to keep the community safe by visiting a miniature golf facility, an area frequented by children, in July 2023.
Later that month, he left his home without U.S. Probation Office approval to visit a gas station across from an athletic field and visited an unknown residence in violation of monitoring requirements.
Halls’ pre-sentence release was revoked on Sept. 5, 2023 for his violations. He remained in U.S. Marshal’s Service custody until his sentencing.
At his sentencing, District Judge Mary K. Dimke highlighted that Halls had also distributed 10,000 images and over 600 videos to three undercover agents.
“For years Mr. Halls sought out depictions of children being abused and then shared those pictures with others online,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref. “Following his arrest, Mr. Halls ignored the conditions of his release and traveled to locations where young children were present. Today’s sentence sends a clear message to those who seek to victimize children: The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our partners will continue to work tirelessly to seek justice for vulnerable populations.”
