Vancouver man gets 4 years for child porn

A judge on Wednesday sentenced a former employee of a local autism therapy center for children and young adults to more than four years in prison for possessing child pornography.

Sean T. Saito, 24, of Vancouver pleaded guilty in June to three counts of first-degree possessing depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Clark County Superior Court records say Saito had worked at the Center for Autism & Related Disorders in Vancouver for about 1 1/2 years.

Saito’s fiancee contacted police in April after finding a thumb drive in his nightstand. She said she was looking for her resume files but found what appeared to be child pornography. Saito eventually told investigators it was his thumb drive and that he’d been viewing child pornography for a number of years, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

In court Wednesday, Saito said he needed help for what he described as an addiction to pornography. He said he hoped to one day get back to his family and helping others. He also called what happened a victimless crime.

Judge Suzan Clark took exception to Saito’s characterization of his charges.

“There’s no mistake to what you did. You went looking for child pornography,” she said.

People can consume pornography featuring consenting adults but that’s not what happened, she said, adding it’s people such as Saito who create the market for the victimization of countless children.

“You need to acknowledge that,” Clark said.

Clark kept with the prosecution’s sentencing recommendation of 51 months in prison and 36 months of community custody. Saito will also have to register as a sex offender.