Boy Scouts leader and former substitute teacher Darrel Dwight enters a Clark County Superior courtroom in December 2014 to hear release conditions related to a child pornography case. (Columbian file photo)
A former substitute teacher and Boy Scout leader charged in federal court with possessing child pornography was sentenced Monday to 15 months in prison.
Darrel James Dwight, 53, of Vancouver, pleaded guilty in April in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to one count of possessing child pornography. As part of a plea agreement, one count of receiving child pornography was dismissed, court records show.
Dwight was arrested in December 2014 and initially appeared in Clark County Superior Court on child pornography allegations. However, the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office declined to pursue charges after learning the case was likely going to be filed in federal court.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed the complaint in January 2015 accusing Dwight of possessing images of minor boys engaged in sexually explicit conduct and buying such images from a Canadian company Azov Films.
The company is the “subject of more than 20 complaints to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Cyber Tip Line regarding the sale of child pornography,” according to the federal complaint.
Dwight, at the time of his arrest, had recently worked as a substitute teacher for Evergreen Public Schools. He substituted at several school systems in the Vancouver area and had substituted in the Evergreen district since 2009, only in elementary classrooms. Dwight also served as a director for Stephenson Children Care Association Inc. and treasurer for Boy Scout Troop 316, which meets in Hazel Dell, according to Columbian archives.
Authorities recovered 1,349 digital images and 46 video files of child pornography from two thumb drives found on Dwight during a search of his pockets. They discovered an additional 743 image files and one video file of child pornography on his laptop seized from his residence, according to the plea agreement. Much of that content depicted children younger than 12 engaged in masochistic conduct or other acts of violence, the plea agreement stated.
Toronto Police Service had served a search warrant on Azov Films’ premises in May 2011 and seized hundreds of movie and photo DVDs, computers and business records, including customer shipping labels and customer order histories. The child pornography was being shipped to customers worldwide, including hundreds of people living in the United States, according to the complaint.
Dwight was arrested when investigators with the U.S. Inspection Service served a search warrant on his person and residence in Vancouver’s Northwest neighborhood. He had purchased five child pornography movies from the company on at least two occasions and downloaded about 19 child pornography movies from a website, the complaint stated.
He will additionally serve 15 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender, court records show.
Morning Briefing Newsletter
Get a rundown of the latest local and regional news every Mon-Fri morning.
Support local journalism
Your tax-deductible donation to The Columbian’s Community Funded Journalism program will contribute to better local reporting on key issues, including homelessness, housing, transportation and the environment. Reporters will focus on narrative, investigative and data-driven storytelling.
Local journalism needs your help. It’s an essential part of a healthy community and a healthy democracy.
