A retired Lake Oswego fire lieutenant was sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison on Tuesday after ordering live-streamed child sex abuse videos from the Philippines and attempting to meet with youngsters there.
Kenneth William Green Jr., 57, of St. Helens, pleaded guilty to child sexual exploitation and interstate travel with the purpose of engaging in unlawful sexual activity.
According to Assistant US Attorney Eliza Carmen Rodriguez, he was a firefighter when he searched for the sexual abuse recordings and images.
U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut described his actions as “so depraved” that they are “almost unimaginable” and imposed the mutually suggested sentence of 15 years and one month.
She also ordered Green to be placed on federal supervised release for the rest of his life once his prison sentence was completed.
“It’s incomprehensible, really, that someone like you, who held a position of status and respect in the community that others looked up to, engaged in conduct that caused small children to be sexually harmed and traumatized for the rest of their lives,” Immergut told Green.
The prosecutor requested a life sentence of supervised release, but his counsel claimed that 10 to 15 years of supervision would be adequate.
Green apologized for his behavior.
“I am deeply ashamed of the choices I made and the harm they caused,” he said, sitting next to his lawyer in Columbia County Jail’s black-and-white striped jail scrubs.
He went on to say that his acts were inconsistent with his lifetime of public service, and he cried as he admitted to having greatly disappointed himself. Green also stated that he is determined to address “my failure” honestly and plans to use what he learns while in custody to assist others in avoiding “these destructive paths.”
The investigation began in 2022, when federal officials searched a residence in Portland, Maine, using a search warrant to locate consumers of sex traffickers in the Philippines.
They seized electronics, and during a search of customers’ Skype accounts linked to the traffickers, they discovered Green’s Skype username in multiple chats between April and August 2022 that contained child sexual abuse images and conversations attempting to arrange in-person meetings with the traffickers and children they had access to, according to the prosecutor.
In mid-October 2023, federal officers from Homeland Security Investigations executed a search warrant on Green’s residence. At the time, he admitted to traveling to the Philippines but denied “buying any kids,” but he admitted to conversing and flirting with people on Skype, asking for “probably inappropriate” material, and requesting to meet up with girls of a specific age, according to the prosecution.
The investigation discovered that Green sent over 35,000 messages to several people in the Philippines who had access to minors, and he sought out people to sexually abuse children there for him to watch on livestreams from the United States, according to the prosecutor. According to a sentencing letter, Green was ready to pay for the service and favored girls between the ages of 12 and 14.
Green “paid for the opportunity to direct others to abuse children in ways that satisfied his sexual appetite.” Although he did not carry out his objectives, he did create detailed plans to commit sexual abuse in person. The magnitude of the pain and trauma his crimes caused to teenage girls in the Philippines cannot be emphasized,” Rodriguez wrote in the memo.
Green’s defense counsel, Robert Sepp, stated that Green understands the gravity of the offense and is sorry.
“At the time of the offense, Mr. Green was dealing with severe untreated mental health issues.” He deeply regrets his actions and has and is taking steps to address his mental health and addictions,” Sepp wrote in his sentencing memo to the judge.
Green’s younger sister, Kelley Ann Parsons, spoke in support of her brother, although she did not explain his behavior.
She highlighted his years of public service, beginning as a machinist and firefighter in the United States Navy and continuing for 25 years as a firefighter, paramedic, and rescue diver with the Lake Oswego Fire Department before retiring in August 2023. She claimed he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and had chronic medical conditions.
“He spent his life rescuing others, but he never learned to rescue himself,” according to her.
The judge agreed to propose that he serve his term at the Federal Correctional Institution Englewood, a prison in Littleton, Colorado, with programs for veterans, sexual offenders, and substance abusers.
Leave a Reply