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November 30, 2007
Washington State man sentenced on child pornography charges
Defendant identified through national ICE investigation - "Operation Emissary"
TACOMA, Wash. – A Puyallup, Wash., man was sentenced today in federal court to nine years in prison and 10 years of supervised release for possession of child pornography following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Delbert R. Merrill, 43, was arrested in October 2006 as part of "Operation Emissary," a nationwide ICE investigation into individuals accessing child pornography over the Internet. During the course of the probe, ICE agents found more than 2,300 images and 50 movies of child pornography on Merrill's home computer.
In addition to downloading pornographic images of children, Merrill admitted to taking sexually suggestive photos of children he knew. He also digitally altered some of the photos by superimposing the faces of children he knew onto the body of another child in the sexually explicit pictures. Merrill pleaded guilty to the charges against him in July 2007.
"The sexual exploitation of children is a crime that has wide reaching effects on the most vulnerable members of our society," said Leigh Winchell, special agent in charge for ICE's Office of Investigations in Seattle. "ICE will continue to aggressively use its investigative authorities to seek out individuals who exploit children in this manner."
Upon his release from prison, Merrill will be required to register as a sex offender.
"Operation Emissary" was initiated by the New Jersey ICE office in late 2005. So far, the investigation has resulted in the arrest of more than 260 people nationwide. Those charged had subscribed to a hard-core child pornography website in late 2005 and early 2006. The arrests were made in 44 states, including Washington.
-- ICE --
