LOS ANGELES – A Murietta man has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to enticing a girl who lived in the Seattle area to engage in sexually explicit activity that resulted in the production of child pornography.

Curtis Audun Larssen, 33, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge S. James Otero to 210 months in prison.

Larssen pleaded guilty in June 2017 to one count of using the internet to induce a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.

According to court documents, Larssen directed a girl, who is described as being no older than 13, to have sexual contact with adult men. Larssen encouraged the victim to allow him to watch the sexual conduct, and to take photos and videos to send to Larssen. In one case, the girl sent Larssen a photo showing her engaged in sexual activity with a 35-year-old man.

In a plea agreement, Larssen admitted that he used a peer-to-peer network to trade child pornography. During a search of his residence in 2014, authorities found in his possession approximately 470 videos depicting child pornography.

Once he completes his prison sentence, Larssen will be on supervised release for the rest of his life.

Larssen was one of 11 defendants arrested in April 2016 as part of Operation Wide Net, an investigation conducted by the Los Angeles Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. ICAC includes special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Postal Inspection Service. These federal law enforcement agencies work with local law enforcement partners, including the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.

The case against Larssen was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chou of the Violent and Organized Crime Section.

Component(s): USAO – California, Central

Press Release Number: 17-147     Updated August 1, 2017

Central District of California DOJ / 17-147 / August 1, 2017