YAKIMA, Wash. – A Yakima man was sentenced to eight years in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release and sex offender registration, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington.
Attorney Vanessa Waldref announced the sentencing of Christopher Lee Osborn, 32, on Tuesday, following an earlier guilty plea for distributing child pornography.
The press release says that Osborn used the Kik app to send images and video of child pornography to an undercover Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent in April 2021.
Images sent included young children being sexually assaulted, according to the press release.
A search warrant was executed by HSI on April 16, 2021, which found 48 images or videos of child pornography in Osborn’s home in Yakima. The images initially sent to the HSI agent were also found in the search.
Osborn was previously arrested in September 2020 and charged with first degree possession of depictions of minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct in the Yakima County Superior Court.
Osborn pleaded guilty to two counts of that charge in January 2024 where he was also sentenced to eight years in prison. That sentence will run concurrently with Tuesday’s federal sentence.
“Prosecutors, law enforcement, educators, parents, and community stakeholders must be vigilant in protecting the most innocent among us,” said Waldref. “Our law enforcement team will continue to tirelessly pursue those who use technology to harm young children. By prosecuting these cases, we protect children and vulnerable populations, thereby strengthening Eastern Washington families and communities.”
The case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to fight child sexual exploitation and abuse.
