Yakima Man Gets 25 Years in Decades-Old Child Porn Case

A Yakima man will spend 25 years in Federal prison for his role in a hidden-camera child porn scheme.

Man accused of using a hidden camera to film children in restroom

Officials with the US Attorney's Office for Eastern WA (Spokane) announced Tuesday that 38-year-old Miguel Urbina of Yakima was sentenced for the 2007 crimes committed using the camera.

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Officials say in 2007 Urbina, along with another person, used a camera hidden inside a woman's purse that was placed in a restroom at the Valley Mall in Union Gap.

According to the US Attorney's Office:

"This camera captured explicit images and video of minor children using the bathroom. These images and videos were saved to Urbina’s computer hard drive. Then, between November 2008 and November 2009, Urbina, produced and attempted to produce child pornography with an individual who was under the age of eighteen."

Federal agents obtained a search warrant and on April 23rd of 2020, searched Urbina's home in Yakima. They found thousands of images of child pornography and the original bathroom audio and video recordings from the mall.

U.S. Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref said Tuesday:

 “Mr. Urbina’s exploitation of minor children spanned two decades, warranting the strict sentence the Court imposed today."

Besides the 25-year term, he was also sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release and will have to register as a sex offender. Authorities did not reveal what led to the initial investigation but said it was pursued as part of the Federal Project Safe Childhood program, which integrates Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies as well as information and education and child safety programs.