SPOKANE, Wash. — A 49-year-old man was sentenced to 264 months and 27 days in federal prison for the Production and Attempted Production of Child Pornography on Oct. 11.
U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Michael Rice to federal prison after an 11-year-old girl revealed that Michael Rice directed her to record herself engaging in sexually explicit acts. The recording was later found in Michael Rice’s iCloud account.
According to court documents, the defendant will pay $48,000 in restitution to his victim and will be federally supervised for ten years after being released from custody.
“Protecting our children is a top priority of my office,” U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref said. “Mr. Rice repeatedly engaged in harmful conduct, taking advantage of our youth in the Eastern District of Washington. With our strong partnership with state and local law enforcement and prosecutors, we were able to successfully remove Mr. Rice from the streets and prevent him from further victimizing the most vulnerable among us.”
Michael Rice was previously convicted of Rape of a Child in the First Degree in 2002, where he received a suspended sentence, per court documents. The victim was 11-years-old.
After spending 338 days in state custody before the recent trial, the federal sentence resulted in Rice’s confinement for 23 years.
“Grant County is a safer place after this significant sentencing,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations operations in the Pacific Northwest. “HSI and our law enforcement partners are relentless in protecting the children of our communities, and this result should serve as a warning to others that seek to target our children.”
