A Snohomish County man has been sentenced to nearly 22 years in federal prison for producing child sexual abuse material and attempting to entice minors, according to an announcement from Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Bennett S. Park, 43, was arrested in August 2023 after he tried to pick up a 13-year-old in Everett, Washington. Park had communicated with an undercover law enforcement officer about his plans.
U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez handed down the sentence of 262 months and ordered Park to serve twenty years of supervised release after his prison term. “By the time you get out you will be in your early 60’s – What will life look like for you,” Judge Martinez said.
Acting U.S. Attorney Miller commented on the case: “This defendant damaged untold lives – those of his victims and those of their family members, friends and adults who tried but could not keep them safe from a predator lurking on the internet,” she said. “I commend the quick work by law enforcement to intervene before he could molest another child.”
According to court documents, Park responded in July 2023 to an online ad posted by an undercover Homeland Security Investigation agent who pretended to have young children available for exploitation. In his response, Park claimed he was already molesting children between ages 11 and 17 and expressed interest in abusing more victims.
Law enforcement began surveillance on Park to identify and protect a real 13-year-old he mentioned meeting. On August 8, 2023, authorities arrested him just after the minor entered his vehicle.
Investigators reviewed Park’s electronic devices following his arrest and found evidence that he had communicated with dozens of minors using platforms such as Instagram, Discord, Snapchat, Facebook, Gmail, and Zoom. Twenty-three minor victims were identified as part of the investigation. The plea agreement details Park’s crimes involving eight different minors.
Fourteen Cybertips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were issued by Discord during this period, confirming that Park enticed or exploited at least twenty-three victims between April 2018 and his arrest.
Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson requested a 25-year sentence in her statement to the court: “Park profoundly harmed countless minors, only several of whom are reflected in the charges brought in this case. He dedicated years of his life to cultivating, grooming, and enticing young girls in an effort to manipulate them to engaging in sexual chatting, sexual acts, and producing sexual imagery for the sole purpose of feeding his pedophilia. The fact that twenty-three victims were identified, and the imagery of countless others remain saved to his devices and accounts underscores the lengths Park was willing to go to in order to victimize innocent children.”
Judge Martinez also ordered that Park register as a sex offender. A restitution hearing is scheduled for November 14, 2025; Park was fined $3,000 toward a fund supporting victims of child sexual abuse imagery.
The prosecution falls under Project Safe Childhood (http://www.justice.gov/psc), a national initiative launched by the Department of Justice aimed at combating child sexual exploitation through coordinated efforts among federal prosecutors and law enforcement agencies.
Homeland Security Investigations led the investigation into this case.
Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson prosecuted.
