SPOKANE, Wash. — A man from Quincy has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography.
According to court documents, 35-year-old Joseph Schmitz was identified as the suspect in May 2021 after his wife found inappropriate photos on his iPad.
His wife called the police and told them that she saw nude photos of an 11-year-old female in a hidden folder on Schmitz iPad. Federal agents issued a search warrant of all electronic devices.
While going through devices and Schmitz’s iCloud account, they found 25 other child phonography victims, in addition to more images and videos of the 11-year-old girl.
Also, agents found that Schmitz was using a Kik application back in 2019 that had groups dedicated to the viewing child sexual abuse and sharing links.
On Oct. 11, a US District Judge sentenced Joseph Schmitz to 10 years in prison, to pay $6,000 in restitution to two of his victims and special assessments totaling $7,000 to funds benefitting victims of human trafficking and child pornography crimes.
He will also be federally supervised for 10 years after being released from prison.
“The sentence imposed in this case recognizes the ongoing and lasting harm caused by child exploitation. It sends a strong message to Mr. Schmitz and others who use what they believe to be online anonymity to exploit the most vulnerable among us,” said United States Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref. “My office prioritizes these offenses against our community’s youngest and most vulnerable and will continue to prosecute those who harm children.”
