‘You have destroyed people’s lives,’ judge tells repeat child pornographer

A Federal Way man was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 18 years in prison for making child pornography and other charges.

After Steven Marc Rigtrup, 38, gets out of prison he will face a lifetime of supervised release for the five felonies that include enticement of a minor as well as the production, possession and distribution of child pornography.

At Monday’s hearing, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart asked him, “Where is there some acknowledgment that you have destroyed peoples’ lives? ... You must be removed from society for the protection of our community.”

Rigtrup was arrested in April and pleaded guilty in November to the charges.

These are not the first sex crimes involving a minor for which Rigtrup has been convicted.

A statement from U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes gave this account of his criminal history:

In February 2014, Rigtrup molested a 15-year-old girl he met after placing an ad on Craigslist. Rigtrup photographed his molestation of the teen and the photos were sent to another sex offender in southern California.

In November 2014, Rigtrup was arrested and prosecuted in King County Superior Court for soliciting sex via the internet with someone he thought was a teenager. In fact, the person he was trying to entice was an undercover officer.

Rigtrup was sentenced to a year in prison, but quickly became involved in child exploitation offenses again following his release. Law enforcement received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that images of child sexual abuse had been uploaded from an email account associated with Rigtrup.

When law enforcement searched Rigtrup’s residence and electronic devices in February 2017, they discovered more than 588 images and four videos of children being raped and molested.

This story was originally published February 5, 2018 at 6:28 PM with the headline "‘You have destroyed people’s lives,’ judge tells repeat child pornographer."