Snohomish County man pleads guilty to producing child sex abuse content
Jan 13, 2025, 4:35 PM
A pair of handcuffs. (Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
A Snohomish County man admitted to child abuse crimes involving dozens of victims.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, 43-year-old Bennett Park pleaded guilty in court on Monday to producing images of child sexual abuse and attempted enticement of minors.
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Park was arrested in August 2023 when he was trying to pick up a 13-year-old in a residential area of Everett, the attorney’s office explained. Park told an undercover law enforcement officer he planned to pick up and molest the 13-year-old.
According to the news release, citing the plea agreement, Park responded to an online ad placed by an undercover Homeland Security Investigation agent in July 2023. The false ad claimed the agent had two young children that could be molested.
In response, Park indicated he was actively molesting children between the ages of 11 and 17 and said he wanted to molest the agent’s fictional children but was already meeting a 13-year-old, the plea agreement stated. Law enforcement subsequently put Park under surveillance to protect the 13-year-old and around 1:45 a.m., arrested Park just after the 13-year-old got into his car.
A review of Park’s electronic devices showed he had communicated with dozens of minors. Police were able to identify 23 of the victims. According to the news release, Park had convinced the minors to provide images of sexual abuse via Instagram, Discord, Snapchat, Facebook, Gmail and Zoom.
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The attorney’s office noted production of child pornography is punishable by a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison. Attempted enticement of a minor is punishable by a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison.
According to attorneys, prosecutors will recommend no more than 25 years in prison and the defense will recommend no less than 20 years. However, the judge is not bound by the recommendations.
Park’s sentencing is scheduled for April 25.
Julia Dallas is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read her stories here. Follow Julia on X and email her here.
