Spokane man sentenced to 10 years for child pornography

A Spokane man has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for possession of child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced on Monday.

U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Paul A. Murray, 49, to 10½ years in federal prison. Murray pleaded guilty on March 28.

In announcing the sentence, Rice referred to the material Murray collected as “depicting the extreme abuse of infants and toddlers and the victimization of the most vulnerable members of our society,” the attorney’s office said in a release.

According to court documents and proceedings dating back to 2013, Murray had an interest in, downloaded and viewed child pornography depicting very young children, the attorney’s office said. In 2017, federal agents downloaded child pornography files from a computer traced to his Spokane residence. Agents searched Murray’s residence and seized a number of Murray’s computers, phones and storage media.

Investigators discovered over 2 million internet searches for child pornography. This was in addition to hundreds of pornographic images, videos and anti-forensic software used to delete files on Murray’s devices.

“Mr. Murray serves as a reminder to us all that child predators may hide in the places we least expect,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref. “By outward appearances, Mr. Murray was a law-abiding citizen and family man. The sentence imposed reflects that underneath this veneer was a deviant interest in and years-long victimization of the most vulnerable among us.”

Rice ordered Murray to serve an additional five years on federal supervision after he is released from prison, and to pay $24,000 in restitution to victims and $5,000 to a fund set up for victims who may request restitution in the future. The devices Murray used to commit his crime were ordered forfeited by the judge.

This case was pursued as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the United States Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, the attorney’s office said.