Kennewick Man Sentenced in Child Porn Case

Just over two years ago, James Patrick Wertman of Kennewick was booked in to the Benton County jail on suspicion of child molestation in the first degree and possession of depictions of minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct in the second.

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As more evidence was collected, it went from possession of to production of child pornography.  Wertman's former fiancee went to authorities after discovering hundreds of naked images of children including her, at the time, 7-year-old daughter on an iPad.

After authorities obtained a search warrant for all Wertman's electronic devices, they made a horrific discovery.  He had taken photos and made videos of his former fiancee's daughter from the time she was 4-yeard-old.  It was the videos that would take this case from the local level to the federal level.

Wertman would set up the video recorder on his phone to capture him sexually molesting the naked child.  Other photos showed him inappropriately touching the girl in the shower.  The federal element of the case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations through the Southeast Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force including detectives from the Kennewick and Richland Police Departments and the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.

In January of this year Wertman entered a guilty plea to two counts of Production of Child Pornography in federal court.  Yesterday he was sentenced in the Richland Federal Courthouse by Chief U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian to 270 months, or 22 and a half years, in federal prison.  If the 53-year-old serves his full sentence, he will be on federal supervision for the remainder of his life upon release.

The judge also ordered restitution to the victims in the amount of $19,601.10.  Wertman was then transferred to Benton County Superior Court, where he plead guilty to two charges of first degree child molestation.